In a press release, the NFCC warned that the major incident in Wareham Forest has ‘highlight[ed] the importance for people to take extra care during the hot weather spell the country is likely to see over the coming days’, with the fire starting on Tuesday and covering over 180 hectares, and featuring a fire front over three kilometres long.
The NFCC urged the public ‘to be vigilant in the coming days if taking daily exercise in areas of woodland, heath or forestry’, particularly as this is a time ‘when fire services are already under pressures due to their response to COVID-19’. At the peak of the fire response, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) had 25 fire appliances attending, alongside 4x4 vehicles and 150 firefighters.
DWFRS were using specialist high volume pumps used ‘to draw water from a river’, and had assistance on hand from a high volume pump tactical adviser and three wildfire tactical advisers, with some of the resources provided by NFCC’s National Resilience function, meaning ‘the right support can be mobilised from across the country to assist with a wide range of incidents’ such as wildfires.
National Resilience is ‘on standby to provide further assistance if the situation changes and additional resources are required’, while surrounding fire and rescue services (FRSs) are ‘helping cover business as usual calls’. There are also teams from the Forestry Commission providing ‘specialist equipment and knowledge’; Natural England, ‘assisting and advising on measures to protect flora and fauna’; and National Grid due to the fire being ‘very close’ to 400kV power lines.
Some of the fire has been ‘beneath’ the lines, with the response including isolating the power lines ‘to protect infrastructure’, while firefighters have been creating fire breaks to reduce the spread of the fire. With nearby major roads closed, ‘it is likely the incident will continue for another several days’, and the fire’s cause is ‘currently under investigation’.
Roy Wilsher, NFCC chair, commented: ‘These large-scale fires are a stark reminder as to just how quickly these types of fires take hold. By their very nature, this type of fire is resource intensive. While we do not know the cause of this fire yet, it is vital the public are listening to the advice of their fire and rescue service; avoid barbecues in these areas, to take all rubbish home with them and to act responsibly.
‘People also need to ensure they are following current government advice on COVID in relation to movement and social distancing. The summer of 2018 saw the highest number of grass fires in recent history and we have also seen the season for wildfires change, with them starting much earlier in the year.
‘We’ve had plenty of warm, dry weather so far this year and so we are also urging landowners not to carry out controlled burns due to the unprecedented pressure fire services are under due to the COVID-19 response.’
Ben Ansell, DWWFRS chief fire officer, stated: ‘Due to the tremendous efforts and hard work of my firefighters and those from neighbouring services over the last 24 hours, we believe the fire in Wareham Forest is now under control. Not only do large incidents like this do untold damage to wildlife and the environment, they are also a large drain on resources during a particularly difficult time.
‘Although we do not yet know how this fire started, I would urge people across the country to listen to the advice of their fire and rescue service when visiting areas of natural beauty during the Coronavirus pandemic.’