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    Tuesday, February 10
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    Crews travel across country to fight blaze

    saiphnewsBy No Comments3 Mins Read


    Emily Ford

    BBC News, South of England

    Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service An aerial view of the fire shows an expanse of green fields with a line of fire and huge plumes of white smoke wafting up into the sky. In the left corner of the image, there is a plot of land which has some farm buildings on it, surrounded by green hedging.Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

    A spokesperson for the fire service previously said it was “highly likely” crews would be at the Holt Heath site for the rest of the week

    Firefighters are travelling from as far as Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to tackle a major heath fire on the south coast of England.

    The blaze at Holt Heath, near Wimborne in Dorset, started on Saturday morning and a major incident was declared.

    Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) crews have been working around the clock to fight the blaze – which is believed to have been started deliberately – but told the BBC more resources from further afield were needed.

    In an update at 10:30 BST, DWFRS said “good progress” had been made overnight and crews were damping down hot spots.

    Axminster Fire Station The silohouette of a firefighter tackling a live fire. He stands on a mound of dirt to the right of the image, holding a water hose, which is spraying water over gorse and hedging fully alight on the ground and a large flame rising up to the sky to the left of the image. Axminster Fire Station

    The fire was declared a major incident on Saturday

    It added: “We are working with our partner agencies and have further assistance of national assets from other fire and rescue services.

    “We are also being supported by Bournemouth Water and the NHS for welfare of crews who continue to work in these hot conditions.”

    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.

    Andy Cole stands giving an interview. He wears a uniform consisting of a navy blue collared shirt, with black patches on the sleeves and red brace straps on his shoulders. He has short greying hair and is looking slightly off camera.

    Andy Cole, chief fire officer for Dorset and Wiltshire fire service, said weather conditions were making dealing with the fire more difficult

    Residents are still being advised to keep their doors and windows closed.

    Andy Cole, chief fire officer for DWFRS, confirmed the fire service was working with police to identify those responsible.

    He said the area was entering a period of “absolutely perfect weather conditions for heath fires”.

    There’s a very large area of the heath that’s unburnt that we’ve saved and managed to protect,” he said. “So we’re working really hard to make sure that the fire doesn’t spread there.”

    Lewis Johnstone Photography Firefighter standing in a road to the right side orange and red flames can be seen in the trees and white smoke flowing up into the sky seenLewis Johnstone Photography

    Specialist support is expected to arrive at Holt Heath to help crews manage multiple hotspots

    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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