David Skaith, mayor of York and North Yorkshire said:

 “Last summer’s wildfire on Fylingdales and Langdale Moor was devastating in its scale, with a significant impact on our environment, local communities and rural economy.

"We welcome this £3.2 million investment from Government, which recognises both the unprecedented nature of the incident and the scale of the recovery challenge. This funding will play a vital role in restoring our peatland, supporting recovery, and helping to build resilience against future wildfires.

"We have worked closely with Government to ensure the scale of this incident and its impact were fully understood, and we will continue to make the case for the long-term support our region needs to recover and adapt to increasing wildfire risks. However, there is still more to do, and I will continue to fight to make sure our county has everything it needs to protect our region from climate change, in the short term and the long term.

"The response to the fire showed the very best of our region, with fire and rescue services, partner agencies, landowners and local communities working together in extraordinary circumstances. That same partnership approach will be essential as we move forward into this next phase of recovery.

 

"As climate change increases the risk of wildfires, it is more important than ever that we learn lessons, strengthen prevention, and ensure our services are equipped to respond. Preventing future wildfires is everyone’s responsibility, including the choices we make when enjoying these landscapes. We will continue working with Government and partners to protect our communities and safeguard our natural environment for the future.”

 

 Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, said:

 “The Langdale / Fylingdales fire was the largest wildfire ever in the England in terms of the amount of carbon released, with over 25km2 of moorland impacted. Since then I've been working closely with the fire and rescue service and other partners as well as national government to ensure services are learning the lessons from the fire and also look at how to prevent an incident of this scale happening again. 

"This funding is extremely welcome and will be vital to both the recovery from the fire but also to ensure the partnership work to prevent future fires moves forward in the right way too.

"As the risk from climate change increase, efforts around wildfires, flooding and other issues will also inevitably need to increase. The Mayor David Skaith and I will continue to do everything we can, working together with partners across the region to ensure we're doing everything we can to keep people safe."