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Saturday , September 19 2026

Holme Fen fire could take days to extinguish, says firefighter

“The fire itself is incredibly deep seated in the nature reserve, tricky to access and extremely hard work for our firefighters,” Burgess said.

It was “incredibly difficult” to know the exact location of peat fires “because it burns under the surface and it burns quite fiercely”, he added.

He estimated the blaze was at least 1m (3.3ft) below the surface.

The senior firefighter said there were currently no plans to close the nature reserve to the public, but he asked visitors to stay away from the area immediately around the fire.

He said the fire service and police were “still actively investigating the cause”.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed it was investigating the fire as a suspected arson attack and urged anyone with information to contact the force.

The site is managed by Natural England and is home to a variety of wildlife species, including 500 types of fungi, enabling the reserve to be declared a site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

Natural England said it was supporting the fire service.

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BBC News

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