Forest fire near Ashurst

We were called to a fire in the New Forest at 3:30pm on Sunday 19 July in woodland between Ashurst and Deerleap Inclosure. The fire spread to an area approximately 10 hectares in size, with 5 hectares experiecing severe damage. At the height of the incident over 60 firefighters, including colleagues from Dorset & Wiltshire FRS, were on scene.

Whilst the cause of the fire is not known, a number of discarded disposable BBQs were found throughout the area. BBQs are banned in the New Forest, check out our wildfire advice for more ways to protect our forest.

*Update 08:30, 20 July*
During our reinspection at 06:30 this morning, we’ve identified a number of hotspots. We currently have six fire engines and other support vehicles on site to prevent the spread of these small fires.

*Update 21:00*
The stop message was issued at 20:41. Approximately 5 hectares of woodland have been severely damaged. We will be working with with our colleagues in Forestry England to monitor the site overnight.

*Update 19:10*
The fire is now surrounded, however we expect to have a large presence on scene for a number of hours as we woke to fully extinguish the fire and then check for hotspots. Our presence will then be scaled back to monitor the area overnight.