Massive Fire Engulfs Former RAF Base in Nottinghamshire with 12,000 Tonnes of Hay Burning

Firefighters have been battling a huge overnight blaze at a former RAF base in Nottinghamshire, in which 12,000 tonnes of hay bales and standing corn were alight. Ten crews were in attendance at the peak of the fire at Wigsley Old Airfield, near Tuxford, which was initially reported at 12.31am on Sunday, July 13.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) said three crews remained at the scene at around 7.30am and are not expected to be extinguishing the blaze \"anytime soon\". A spokesperson said: \"The fire is still going and three crews are in attendance. Depending on the wind, it would seem fire crews will be there for the majority of the day. The fire won't be out anytime soon.\" No injuries have been reported, according to the spokesperson.

NFRS added in a post on X that firefighters were likely to be on the scene for the next few days. \"Three fire engines remain on scene, where they're creating fire breaks to extinguish the fire,\" it said.

Station manager Jack Makepeace added: \"It's looking like we are going to remain on scene for the coming days, if not longer, whilst we work to fully extinguish the fire and determine a cause. I would like to thank both the staff on the fire ground and those working hard in our Joint Fire Control Room for the work they have done throughout the night, especially in the hot conditions. We would like to remind people to avoid the area where possible. If you can still see or smell smoke in your local area, then we advise keeping doors and windows closed.\"

RAF Wigsley was built between 1941 and 1942 as a satellite base for the Royal Air Force. RAF Wigsley was operational from February 1942 and closed in July 1958. There are still buildings from the war on the site.