Holt Heath fire: Crews travel across country to fight blaze
Originally, more than 100 firefighters from local stations worked to tackle the fast-moving fire, which had burnt through about 69 hectares (170 acres) of land.People were forced to leave their homes on Saturday when the fire broke out, but have since been able to return.Residents are still being advised to keep their doors and windows closed.Mr Cole, who confirmed the fire service was working with police to identify those responsible, said: "There's a very large area of the heath that's unburnt that we've saved and managed to protect - so we're working really hard to make sure that the fire doesn't spread there."
He added: "We've got resources coming to support us from across the country - from as far away as Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, as well as the homes counties - so I'm incredibly grateful to all of those fire and rescue services for supporting us at a time where we're incredibly stretched."The service has also been tackling a fire at Newton Heath, near Swanage, that has been burning for a week.The fire, between Corfe Castle and Swanage, has destroyed an area about the size of 35 football pitches since it broke out last Sunday and was also believed to have been started deliberately.
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