Poole and Weymouth have been hit by devastating fires impacting on heathland at Canford Heath and the nature reserve at Lodmoor country park.
Fire services were called to both and spent considerable time attempting to put out the flames and dampen the ground.
Earlier scenes on social media from Poole showed huge orange flames covering a vast area of rural land, with thick smoke pouring into the air.
Canford Heath is known for being the largest heathland in Dorset, and the largest lowland heath in the UK.
It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a part of the Dorset Heathlands Special Protection Area.
Both our pump and Landrover were sent to Canford Heath this afternoon for what’s probably the largest fire in this location for a number of years. At it’s height there were 15 Pumps 4 water carriers and 6 off road landrovers pic.twitter.com/cFlApWgqMW
— Ferndown Fire Stn (@DWFRSFerndown) April 23, 2022
Canford Heath ???? pic.twitter.com/eUKTieAPcE
— LEDDY ???? (@leddy___) April 23, 2022
“At its height there were 15 pumps, four water carriers and six off-road” vehicles, the station said.
Elizabeth Leddy, 28, from Poole, told the PA news agency: “The amount of smoke pluming out was like no Heath fire I’ve seen before.”
Another nearby resident said the “scary” fire meant she was stuck on her road.
Wessex Water had been made aware of some supply issues in the area following the incident, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service said, as it urged members of the public to contact the supplier directly if the problems continued.
Dorset Police earlier said enquiries to establish the cause of the fire were ongoing.
A similar incident occurred 30 miles down the coast in Weymouth where a fire broke out at the nature reserve at Lodmoor country park.
Again the amazing fire services acted promptly and have now controlled the incident.
Again a police investigation is under way but we should remind people that they must avoid behaviour that can be destructive and dangerous to themselves and to others.
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