5 days ago
Major incident: Firefighters continue to tackle heath blaze in 'ardorous' conditions
FIREFIGHTERS continue to tackle a major heath blaze which broke out over the weekend.
Firefighters are said to be working in "arduous" conditions at Holt Heath, with multiple hotspots and flare-ups that are yet to be tackled.
The fire first broke out on August 9 at 11am, with around 100 firefighters battling the blaze of approx. 1,000m x 800m near Wimborne.
Fire crews had five pumping appliances, three small 4x4 vehicles, one water carrier and the Unimog in attendance initially and a further four appliances were requested.
Crews in attendance were from Poole, Blandford, Wareham, Wimborne, Springbourne, Hamworthy, Salisbury and HIOWFRS crews from St Marys, New Milton and Eastleigh, Fordingbridge and Burley.
(Image: Simon Rowley)
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A major incident was declared on Saturday night due to the size of the fire and the stretched resources of the emergency services.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Darren Langdown said on Saturday: 'We have declared a major incident both due to the size of the fire at Holt Heath, and also the impact of this and Newton Heath on our overall availability of resources.
'We are extremely grateful to our neighbouring services for the support they are giving us, and I can only praise all of our staff who are working so hard in extremely arduous conditions to bring these fires under control.'
Crews are still being drawn from across the Service area as well as neighbouring services, including Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (Official) and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service
A spokesperson has said: "On Monday morning, we are expecting appliances and specialist support from other parts of the country, thanks to help from the National Resilience Assurance Team.
Firefighters remain on the scene (Image: DWFRS)
"We would like to say a huge thank you to Morrisons in Verwood and Tesco Express in West Moors for donating food and water; the Dorset Food Company for providing an on-site hot food van; the Salvation Army for supplying drinks and snacks; and the many local residents who have dropped off donations.
"We've had lots of offers to deliver food and drink to fire stations, but we would ask for this not to happen as there may not be anyone available to take delivery. We are extremely grateful for the support and all the kind messages we have received."
