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Inferno
A MASSIVE blaze has devastated a large area of the North York Moors near Whitby.
An ecological expert fears the moorland at Fylingdales could be a barren wasteland for years.
More than 50 firefighters from across North Yorkshire – a quarter of the county's force – tackled the blaze, which covered an area of about four square miles.
The A171 was closed between Harwood Dale and Whitby on Wednesday afternoon and did not re-open until late yesterday morning to protect drivers from any danger.
People were evacuated from homes and farmhouses in the path of the inferno, which at one point was spreading across Fylingdales Moor at a rate of more than 300 yards every half-hour.
The blaze was believed to have been started in the Jugger Howe layby, where the Lyke Wake walk crosses the A171.
It is unclear how the fire started but a discarded cigarette or other smoking materials may have been to blame.
Within minutes the fire was blown across the road in the south-westerly wind and rapidly spread across the dry heather and gorse heading towards the coast.
Firefighters were still tackling the blaze yesterday afternoon.
See the Whitby Gazette for more details
To view more photographs click here and look at our Picture Gallery of the Moors Fire
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Weather for Whitby
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
