Hampshire firefighters have been given cooked food by a Christian charity, which has set up a base on the closed A31.

Established by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church in 2013, the Rapid Relief Team offers catering assistance at emergencies around the globe, according to its website.

The Cornwall-based charity is providing "food and drink to help fuel our firefighters as they work in challenging conditions", Hampshire's fire service said.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has said the "devastating" blaze is a reminder of the increasing threat from climate change.

In a statement, it said: "We are deeply concerned about the extent of heathland likely to have been lost during this recent fire and the impact on species that rely on this habitat, including adders and nightjars.

"Recovery will take time, with vegetation needing years to regenerate and once again provide the shelter, food and breeding grounds that wildlife depends upon.

"Climate change is increasing the likelihood of prolonged periods of hot, dry weather, making fires more likely to occur and more difficult to control.

"We need urgent action to tackle climate change, alongside practical measures to help landscapes adapt and become more resilient. Our local environment is under increasing pressure, and we are lacking the former robustness our countryside used to have."

Image source, Becky's Beezzzs

Colonies of bees had to be rescued as the fire took hold on Sunday evening.

Honey firm Becky's Beezzzs was alerted by a New Forest ranger and sent a team to move the hives from their remote location.

"The bees would have been burnt," owner Becky Chadd said.

"We were fortunate that by the time we got there, they had stopped flying so we didn't lose any stragglers."

She said the scorched area would be unusable for bee colonies for some time.

Forestry England, which manages the area affected by the fire, has said it has been "tirelessly working around the clock on site" in support of firefighters.

It said rangers had been cutting extra fire breaks and patrolling the nearby car parks which have been closed.

In a statement, it added: “We and our local partners work year-round to help prevent and minimise the impact of wildfires in the New Forest.

“We carry out regular prescribed burning and cut vegetation every year to create fire breaks to help prevent fires from spreading.

"We have also, over the last decade, restored hundreds of hectares of wetland across the area allowing the forest to hold more water on the land during periods of prolonged dry weather and droughts."

We've been speaking to people in Lyndhurst about the New Forest wildfire.

Stuart Long, who has an Airbnb on the A31, said it was having "massive impacts" on the locals.

"Yesterday morning I went to change over at 10 o'clock," he explained. "The police wouldn't let me through at first, but finally let me through."

He said he hadn't worried about wildfires before and now "definitely" does, but that the fire crews were doing an "amazing job... I take my hat off to them".

Zeki Sen, who runs the The Forage restaurant, said it had affected business "big time".

"I'm sitting outside here chilling, instead of serving people in there," he said.

"These things happen… the firefighters have done an amazing job. They were there immediately, they will fight it. Everything is under control as far as we know, so we are happy."

Bob Holder added: "It's very sad. I'm sure a lot of attractive vegetation and animals are going to be destroyed in the forest."

Image source, HIWFRS

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Service has released an update on the firefighting operation.

It said the blaze now covered about 1.6 sq km (400 acres).

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Shantha Dickinson said: “For nearly two days, our firefighters have been tackling a large wildfire in the New Forest.

“Firefighters, supported by colleagues from fire and rescue services across the country, are working tirelessly to prevent the fire from spreading further.

“Alongside the difficult terrain and hot conditions our crews are working in, we have faced a number of additional challenges, including maintaining a sufficient water supply and responding to changing wind directions."

She said she expected firefighters to remain on the scene for several more days.

A reminder that the A31 dual carriageway through the New Forest will remain closed until further notice.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service said it would have a "significant presence for several days" in the area.

Road users are advised to follow these diversion routes, external and ignore Satnavs.

The BBC understands a smaller fire near Lyndhurst was reported around 12:00 BST.

Teams on the ground have described a 300x200m area of gorse alight, with three fire appliances, a 4x4, and a fire service car on site.

The smoke in the area has dissipated somewhat, with two appliances now present.

"We had the big pipe, the water pipe, put at the top of the road, so we couldn't get out, we had to stay in," Jennifer Lowe, from Ringwood, told us about the strategy put in place by firefighters in her local area to combat the blaze.

"So we couldn't get around yesterday, but they've put a ramp over it today and we've been able to get out.

“Some people haven't been very happy about it, but blimey, they've got to do what they've got to do and I think they're doing an amazing job.”

Image source, BBC Sport

Mark Chapman, regional secretary for the southern region of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), has said local firefighters have been "working consistently and so hard" in "challenging situations" since Sunday.

"We're all seeing the weather out there, it is absolutely baking hot and it's no fun," he told the BBC.

"The arduous nature of putting out wildfires is incredibly labour intensive. It's very resource-heavy, and they are working for protracted periods of time."

He added: "What we've actually had in effect is have to borrow firefighters and fire engines from other brigades such as London to resource Hampshire and Isle of Wight so that we can get an effective relief strategy in to allow firefighters to come away from the incident, to recoup, to re-energise, and to get some rest, before they turn back out again to that same incident."

He said he had "heard stories of firefighters being there for 10 hours plus, which is just unacceptable in this day and age".

The FBU is calling for 5,000 new firefighters and more investment in the fire service, as well as a national wildfires summit.

Image source, New Forest - Forestry England

Forestry England is urging people to continue to stay away from areas affected by the fire.

It said with road closures and diversions in place, "we would like to remind everyone driving through the Forest that animals can be close to or on the roads at any time of the day or night.

"Please drive with care and within the speed limit."

It said teams remained on site to assist the emergency services and were continuing to cut additional fire breaks.

Car parks at Bratley View, Canadian War Memorial and Bolderwood, and the cycle routes nearby, are still closed.

New Forest resident Dawn has been expressing her concerns over a surge in traffic through Linwood with the A31 closure in place.

Speaking in an episode of BBC Radio Solent's Need To Know series, she said the road that goes through the small town near Ringwood was a "single track", completely unsuitable and led to the road becoming clogged.

She said "road closed" signs had been added after she raised the issue but traffic was still cutting through and ignoring them.

"I am just concerned for everybody's safety. Please, please don't come through.. It's closed for a reason," she added.

Image source, Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Firefighters are spraying water onto the ground to damp down and cool the edges of the heathland area hit by the blaze.

Crews have been tackling the fire since it broke out on Sunday shortly after 17:20 BST.

Earlier, the fire service said it was planning to increase crews at the fire today "for a larger scale attack".

Image source, Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Bournemouth Water has asked residents to reduce usage as the need for fighting the fire has added to existing pressures put on supplies by the summer’s heatwaves.

The firm supplies water to the New Forest area, and general manager Richard Stanbrook said: “The prolonged hot weather over the last few weeks, paired with firefighting activity from recent large fires, has resulted in exceptionally high demand on our drinking water network.

“To help protect water supplies across the network and reduce the risk of supply interruptions, we are asking customers to reduce their water usage where possible until temperatures begin to drop.

“We all need to use water wisely in these extreme conditions, and small changes can make a big difference.”

Satellite images show New Forest firepublished at 11:17 BST 11 August

11:17 BST 11 August

By Barbara Metzler

Satellite images taken yesterday, 10 August, show smoke plumes from the New Forest fire stretching for more than 2km (1.2 miles).

The blaze was initially started by a van catching fire on the A31. The satellite imagery shows there are scorch marks on the carriageway.

Scorched ground and burn scars are also visible in the image between the main fire and the A31.

The European Forest Fire Information System (Effis) estimates that around 108 hectares of land have already been burnt. The estimate is based on lower-resolution satellite data and may change as more detailed imagery and information become available.

New Forest residents have been calling in to BBC Radio Solent to share their thoughts and experiences of the impact of the fire.

Among them, Sarah says: "The whole thing is just absolutely heartbreaking and I want to cry over it. It's just awful.

"But I think also we need to spare a thought for that poor van driver.

"They must be feeling absolutely devastated because they inadvertently started this."

Image source, HIWFRS

The fire service's latest social media updates, external have attracted a huge response, with many people expressing gratitude for the bravery of firefighters tackling the blaze.

One person wrote: "Thank you all for your hard work and for keeping us safe. We really appreciate everything you do."

Another posted: "You are doing a great job under immense pressure and it is greatly appreciated."

Others echoed similar messages, with many describing the crews as "amazing" and thanking them for their hard work.

The post from the service says crews worked tirelessly through Monday night and explained that a change in wind direction had been challenging but they were "managing to contain the fire".

Image source, PA Media

Forestry England says ponies and other animals in the New Forest can move freely to areas not affected by the fire.

It says it understands people are concerned about the animals, but that they can leave the area affected by the fire.

The organisation adds that the animals are owned and cared for by Commoners group, who are being kept updated.

Forestry England says its teams are helping the fire service with access to the area. Once the fire is out and it is safe, the damage caused by the blaze will be assessed.