As the driest spring on record continues for another week, the risk of wildfire is significant across the moors and mountains of Britain. At the weekend, hill runner Nick Small got more than he bargained for on his regular Sunday jaunt in the Pennines.

I'm a hill runner, walker, volunteer ranger and ambler on the moors of the South Pennines just North of Halifax. Ovenden Moor is my playground. In May 2011 there was a fairly catastrophic moorland fire which devastated large swathes of the moor and took years to repair. Recently, initiatives like "slow the flow" and "Moors for the Future" have done a good job with building leaky dams, introducing sphagnum moss and trying to keep the blanket bog SSSI nice and wet.

people blithely ignored the "no barbecues: fire risk" posters, cooking lunch on disposable barbecues while watching the blaze unfold up on the tops

But this Spring has been so worryingly dry that we've been dreading another devastating fire. On Sunday 11th of May I set off for my regular long Sunday Slowcial jog chat with my regular fell running mate. We'd only gone 100 metres when we noticed the plume of smoke coming from our beloved moor. Straight away we pretty much knew what this meant ... the only question was, how bad would it be?

We ran straight to the affected area, the north side of a steep sided gully called Skirden Clough. There were some fire crews there already with beaters and leaf blowers (apparently they can be effective in extinguishing rather than fanning the flames). It was immediately obvious that they were up against it. Not enough manpower. Fortunately the wind was, unusually, from the east. This would, I hoped, keep the fire out of the upwind woodlands of the Ogden Water nature reserve  where I volunteer.

Encouraging my mate to finish his run, I ran back to the nature reserve sheds where I knew we had some beaters. I ran back up to the fire, in skimpy running shorts and a vest, armed with my beater. I noticed that the fire had jumped the stream that formed Skirden Clough and was working its way up the steep slopes on the southern side of the clough. There were no fire crews on that south side so I went to try to do what I could there.

The strong breeze was pushing it westwards, but it was also burning up the slope, fed by tinder dry bilberry, grass and heather. The vegetation, especially last year's dry bracken, was so combustible that fire was burning back into the breeze... worryingly, heading towards the tinder dry woodlands.

In the bilberry scrub, the fire was shooting flames several feet up into the air and the heat was too intense for me. I couldn't get close.  The only option I could see was to wait for it to reach a footpath on the edge above the clough, where the grass was trodden and short, and try to put it out there. This worked out... and eventually fire crews arrived from farther and farther afield to help. A Landrover and a quad with water tanks arrived to help my effort on just a tiny part of the fire.

At that point I could pause and look at the bigger picture. The burning area was now four times what it was when I arrived, and flames could be seen that were 2 to 3 metres high in the middle of the moor. Ovenden Moor windfarm, with its huge turbines, was invisible, despite being just a few hundred metres away.

At 3 o'clock I left, after three hours of trying to smother miniscule bits of a ginormous blaze. New fire crews were arriving and I could leave it to the pros.

I returned the following morning, the 12th. The estate manager picked me up and we walked up to survey the damage. It was pretty horrendous. Acres of habitat for ground nesting birds and other moorland wildlife just blackened and smouldering. But, the firefighters had done an incredible job of containing and suppressing the fire ... the eastern edge was just 100 metres from the scots pines of the woodland. There were no flames but there was heat still in the ground and smoke poured from hotspots. Somehow the fire brigade hose layers had made a ring main all around the perimeter of the scorched area... meaning any new outbreak could be damped down with relative ease.

As I write, it's the evening of the 12th and I can still see smoke rising from the ground. The burning deep in the peat will take days to put out and the moor will take years to recover. What caused the fire? We don't know yet. But while the moor was ablaze, there were people in Ogden Water nature reserve blithely ignoring the "no barbecues: fire risk" posters, cooking up lunch on disposable barbecues while watching the drama unfold up on the tops.

Current fire risk in the UK hills

In light of the Cold Edge Road fire, and given the ongoing dry weather, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are asking the public to help reduce the risk by avoiding BBQs, campfires and fireworks on moorland. Take litter home - especially glass bottles; respect Public Space Protection Orders; and report fires or suspicious activity immediately via 999 (ask for Fire or Police).

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service are reporting a heightened risk of wildfire for the remainder of the week, and urge people to enjoy the weather and countryside safely and responsibly.

Earlier this week the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service reported a Very High to Extreme risk of wildfire in mainland Scotland. Wildfires have the potential to burn for days, devastating vast areas of land and wildlife, and threatening nearby communities, they say.

SFRS Wildfire Lead Michael Humphreys said: "We are asking the public to exercise extreme caution and think twice before using anything involving a naked flame.

"Many rural and remote communities are hugely impacted by wildfires, which can cause significant damage. Livestock, farmland, wildlife, protected woodland and sites of special scientific interest can all be devastated by these fires - as can the lives of people living and working in rural communities.

"These fires can also have a hugely negative impact on the environment and the release of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

"Human behaviour can significantly lower the chance of a wildfire starting, so it is crucial that people act safely and responsibly in rural environments and always follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code."