Gentleshaw Common fire: Huge blaze 'spreading rapidly' as skyline turns terrifying orange

A has taken hold at a wildlife spot with the night sky lit up orange as fire crews tackle the flames. The fire broke out at Gentleshaw Common near Burntwood, Staffordshire at around 8pm on Friday.

Dramatic images have been posted online showing the fire raging with massive flames and smoke billowing. Staffordshire Fire Service has sent out six appliances to tackle the what says is .

Eyewitness Shellie Shakespeare said: “Unfortunately the wind is carrying it, and it is spreading rapidly. And unfortunately due to us not having any rain up there for a bit everything is dry up there, so that wouldn’t help with the spread of the fire either.

“There are lots of crews trying to tackle the fire trying to access it from Common Side and Chorley Road.” The fire is understood to be dry grass that has gone up in flames and there is considerable concern for the wildlife that will have been affected.

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One woman posting on said: “This is heartbreaking. It's bird nesting season and this will be absolutely devastating. The common is also an area of special scientific interest for the amount of bees.

"I hope whoever has done this. and it wasn't warm enough for this to be natural, understands the implications of what they have done. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust also maintains the land and are a charity who will be hit so hard by this, they spend hours maintaining this place for us to enjoy.”

Others posted speculation that the fire had been started deliberately and also about the damage caused to the wildlife. Staffordshire Fire and Rescue wrote on X: "We currently have crews dealing with a significantly large fire on Gentleshaw Common. Please avoid the area and keep doors and windows closed."

While a spokeswoman for Staffordshire Fire Control, reported , said: “It’s a wild fire, just grass. We have had quite a lot of calls to it. We have been there for an hour. Our first call was 8 o'clock. We have got six appliances there. But it's just grass on the common"

The Met office has been warning this week of the threat of wildfires around the country due to an unusually dry March and a warm spell this week.

Heathlands damaged by wildfires this week could take up to five years to recover, according a local wildlife expert. Major blazes erupted during dry in and Dorset this week, with around 80 firefighters called to the scene of a fire estimated to cover 50 hectares on Upton Heath on Wednesday night.

Although heathlands are manmade landscapes, Dorset Wildlife Trust chief executive Brian Bleese said such landscapes take thousands of years to develop and there are no easy re-population routes for wildlife. “To see it in good condition again is going to be four or five years,” said the 59 year old.

“We’ve got global crises we’re trying to deal with internationally including a global ecological crisis… Dorset is not immune to this global ecological crisis. With heathlands now being so fragmented it means fires on a particular site, especially large fires, can have a significant blow that has an impact for many years to come.”

Mr Bleese said Upton Heath is home to all six British reptiles – including sand lizards, blue snakes, adders, grass snakes, slow worms and common lizards. “This is devastating for animal populations,” he said in a TikTok video from the burned heath.

The Dorset Wildlife Trust has been working across Upton Heath to recover dead reptiles and re-locate ones found alive to safer areas of the heathlands. Mr Bleese said Fires across heathlands in England do not occur naturally and would have been started by negligence or arson.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue shared advice to walkers not to lave barbecues unattended or leave glass bottles in direct sunlight and to ensure cigarettes are fully extinguished and correctly disposed of.

“Going forward we want everybody’s help to make sure we are vigilant on heathlands through the rest of this year,” Mr Bleese said. “Let’s try and avoid any further major fires and we need everybody’s help to do that.” Mr Bleese said Dorset has seen extensive habitat loss in recent years and there have been 100 wildfires reported in the area this year.