MORE than 50 firefighters were today still locked in a battle to control a massive North Yorkshire moorland blaze.
The fire, which at one point was almost two miles across, is burning on Fylingdales Moor between Scarborough and Whitby.
The situation was worsened by overnight changes in the wind direction.
Four homes at Fylingthorpe were evacuated overnight as a precaution and a stretch of the A171 was closed to allow fire crews to fight the fire from the road. No one was injured. A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: "At this stage it is not a question of putting the fire out, it is too big. We are working to control it and prevent it from spreading to buildings.
"A fire this size will smoulder for some time, we expect to be there for the majority of the day."
The cause of the fire has not yet been established.
Other fires broke out yesterday on moorland north of Kirkbymoorside and at Stokesley.
Updated: 11:18 Thursday, September 18, 2003
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