Public urged to avoid 'surrounded' New Forest fire site

22 hours ago

Charlotte ColesSouth of England

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said crews have spent a total of almost 10,000 hours at the incident

HIWFRS A firefighter tackling a fire in a heathland — Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said crews have spent a total of almost 10,000 hours at the incident

The public has been urged to avoid an area where crews are working to dampen down a wildfire.

The blaze in the New Forest began when a van caught fire on the A31 last Sunday. The road will remain closed until at least Thursday, National Highways has said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) said it has received reports of members of the public accessing the site where its crews are working.

It comes after an earlier update from the fire service on Saturday, saying the fire was now "fully surrounded" after firefighters worked through the night. HIWFRS added: "We will still be on scene for a number of days as we damp down and extinguish hotspots."

The service added: "Accessing an active fire ground puts people at risk, impacts our firefighting operations, risks damage to the critical equipment we have on site, and could therefore cause further delays to this lengthy incident."

The fire service said the area highlighted in this map is still part of its operational response zone

HIWFRS A map of the fire ground, which extends from the A31 south, encompassing Backley Enclosure, down to Soarley Beeches and Stirking Edge Wood, across to Bratley Wood and Sandy Ridge. — The fire service said the area highlighted in this map is still part of its operational response zone

The fire service revealed on Friday evening that the blaze has affected an area of approximately 1.6 sq km (0.6 sq miles) and 169 fire appliances have attended from 93 fire stations.

In an update on Friday, assistant chief fire officer for HIWFRS Rob Cole said: "I'm pleased to say we are getting on top of this. However, there are many days of work ahead of us to ensure that this fire doesn't spread when the wind blows or when other hotspots start to occur."

On Friday evening, the UK's mobile phone alert system was used to warn people not to light anything which could spark a wildfire, including barbecues and garden incinerators.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told members of the public to take the warning "seriously" and said it was triggered at the request of firefighters.