A major incident has been declared as 100 firefighters battle a wildfire in Dorset.
People were warned to stay away from the area as the large fire spread quickly through Holt Heath, near Wimborne.
A total of 20 homes were evacuated and residents were told to ensure their windows and doors were closed as crews on 20 fire engines fought to bring the flames under control.
Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service was originally alerted to the blaze on Saturday at around 11.30am, it was reported by Sky News.
In a statement shared on X, the service said: “This fire is moving quickly and they [the public] could easily get caught out if they are too close and the fire spreads towards them.”
The fire swept through an area of around 1000m by 800m and it is expected to take a few days to extinguish completely.
Antony Bholah, the service’s area manager, said: “There are some areas that are really difficult to access. So we’re being very cautious about how we approach it and we might call on some additional resources later on this evening.”
Neighbouring fire services were involved and the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
The public has been advised against flying drones over the blaze as crews are concerned they could obstruct the firefighters’ own drones.
Crews are also involved in fighting another blaze in the area, which is understood to have been started deliberately, at Newton Heath, near Swanage, which has been burning over 21 hectares since last Sunday.
Darren Langdown, Dorset’s assistant chief fire officer, said: “We have declared a major incident both due to the size of the fire at Holt Heath, and also the impact of this and Newton Heath on our overall availability of resources.”
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/major-inci...221748235.html
