Hot weather sparks spike in wildfires across Hampshire and Isle of Wight

Our crews have continued to battle wildfires across our area over the past few days, as the hot and dry weather has led to the perfect conditions for damaging outdoor fires to start and spread within our countryside.

Help us protect the countryside by leaving your barbecues at home, extinguishing cigarettes properly and not starting campfires.

Shortly before four o’clock yesterday afternoon (20 July) we were alerted to a woodland fire off of Forest Lane in Tadley.

Forty five firefighters from across Hampshire and Berkshire arrived on scene with fire engines, off-road vehicles and water carriers to contain the fire, stopping it spreading further.

The incident was scaled down in the evening, with relief crews taking over from those who had first arrived on the scene, working through the night to continue making progress.

Crews worked to dampen down remaining hotspots, before they began to leave the scene at around 1pm on Tuesday.

One fire engine will return later this afternoon to conduct a reinspection of the area.

Wildfire Tactical Advisor, Group Manager Larry Mackrell, said:

“We are facing a busy period of large outdoor fires as a result of the current hot and dry weather conditions we are experiencing.

“These incidents can prove devastating to our local greenspaces, whilst destroying the habitats of our wildlife across Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

“They also have a significant impact on the fire service, as to resolve them, we need to dedicate large numbers of resources for long periods of time.

“Over the past few days, our crews have had to work extremely hard in the heat to stop a number large fires across the countryside.

“The best way to tackle these fires is to prevent them from starting in the first place.

“If you’re out enjoying the countryside, we ask that you take a picnic instead of a barbecue, take your rubbish home with you, ensure smoking materials are properly extinguished and avoid lighting campfires.

“If you do see a fire in the countryside, get to safety, call 999 and provide a landmark or What3Words pinpoint to help crews in locating the incident.” 

Here’s a round-up of some of the outdoor blazes our teams have faced since Saturday:

• In the early hours of Saturday, New Forest teams worked alongside crews from Dorset and Wiltshire FRS, to stop a woodland fire at a bee farm in Bransgore.
• In the east of Hampshire, firefighters from five stations fought a deep-seated woodland fire in Havant at around nine o’clock  on Saturday morning.
• At midday, around thirty firefighters from across Hampshire and Surrey stopped a fire which destroyed one and a half hectares of standing crops in North Warnborough.
• On-call crews from Alresford and Horndean extinguished a fire involving roadside vegetation which had spread into a field in Froxfield near Petersfield.
• On the Isle of Wight, crews from Ryde, Newport and Cowes tackled a large field fire off of Ashey Road in Ryde, before on-call firefighters from Shanklin extinguished a similar fire in Sandown, on Saturday afternoon.
• At around midday on Sunday, firefighters in the north of the county fought a fire involving a 100sqm area of crops in Pamber End, shortly before a large area of woodland in Ashurst, New Forest caught alight, which saw crews on scene well into Monday conducting inspections and damping down flare-ups. 
• Just two hours after our teams had begun battling the Ashurst fire, another thirty firefighters were called out to the blaze at Alver Valley, where crews worked to protect a historic village made of thatched cottages. We have been dealing with fires at the country park right up until this morning, ensuring that remaining hotspots didn’t re-escalate the incident. 
• With smoke plumes visible for miles, more than forty 999 calls reported a large field fire on Hayling Island yesterday. Around 55 firefighters worked to stop the blaze which destroyed more than 12 hectares of crops. We were on the scene for nine hours yesterday, before one crew returned this morning to prevent a smouldering tree from developing.
• Hampshire firefighters worked alongside crews from Surrey during incidents in Ewshot and Camberley.
• A farm building was destroyed in a fire which began in a nearby field yesterday afternoon in East Wellow. Firefighters had to treat two casualties who were suffering from suspected smoke inhalation.
• Around twenty emergency calls reported a fire involving trees and shrubbery off of Bishopstoke Road in Eastleigh shortly after six o’clock yesterday evening, whilst there were fifty calls into the HIWFRS Control Room for a fire on the central reservation and embankment off the A3, which was stopped by on-call crews.
• Shortly after eight o’clock this morning (21 July) we have had firefighters from across the New Forest and beyond at a 50m x 50m deep-seated fire off of Lyndhurst Road in Burley.

These simple tips will help you to stay safe in the countryside and protect it for others to enjoy:

• Don’t start campfires in the countryside
• Never take barbecues or lit charcoal of any kind to enclosed spaces for example tents
• Never leave barbecues unattended and dispose of them appropriately
• Don’t leave glass bottles in direct sunlight as this could start a fire
• Don’t start a fire or barbecue in areas that strictly state this is prohibited such as the New Forest National Park
• Make sure cigarettes are out and correctly dispose of themTake home your litter or make sure you put it in a bin
• Keep a bucket of water, sand or a garden hose nearby in case of emergency
• Leave plenty of room around your barbecue
• Set up barbecues on level ground which is away from dry grass, bushes, fences, tents and other structure

If you see a fire:

• If you do see a fire in the countryside, get to safety and contact us immediately – dial 999
• Don’t attempt to tackle fires that can’t be put out with a bucket of water
• Give a map reference if possible, otherwise give a landmark such as a farm or pub to help locate the fire
• Download the What3Words app on your phone to help us pinpoint incidents
• Estimate the size of the area that’s burning
• Describe the type of terrain (grass, bracken, forest, open moorland etc)
• Evacuate the area as soon as possible