Wood recycling plant blaze 'could burn for days'

A "significant wood chippings fire" at a wood recycling plant in North Yorkshire could burn for "a number of days", according to the fire service.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS) crews were called to reports of a fire at the Seras facility on Heck and Pollington Lane, near Great Heck, at 23:41 BST on Tuesday.

A Seras spokesperson said the fire had broken out at one of its "unprocessed wood piles", but added no one had been injured.

Fire crews from across the county are still tackling the blaze, now measuring 50m by 30m, and the fire service said they would remain there "for an extended period".

Appliances from Selby, Harrogate, Thirsk and Richmond were called to the scene overnight as well as crews from Humberside and South Yorkshire.

Jon Darnton, group manager at NYFRS, said that crews had been working hard to prevent the fire from spreading and were expected to remain at the scene "for a number of days".

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

Seras, a biomass fuel supplier and waste wood management company, said it would investigate the cause once it received the "all-clear" from the fire service.

The company said fires at storage sites were a "serious issue for the UK waste wood recycling industry and wider waste sector".

A spokesperson said: "Recent figures from the Environment Services Association show that its members have reported 1,518 fires in the year to March 2026, with at least 541 of these fires directly attributed to lithium-ion batteries.

"A further 216 battery fires occurred in bin lorries."

The fire service asked members of the public to avoid the area where possible and advised nearby residents to keep doors and windows closed due to "a significant smoke plume", which had been visible from as far as the M62.

Issuing further advice, NYFRS said: "Anyone travelling through the area should keep vehicle windows closed if affected by smoke.

"Please drive to the conditions of the roads and take extra care if visibility is reduced by smoke."

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