Hot weather sparks spike in wildfires across Hampshire and Isle of Wight

Firefighters have tackled a series of damaging wildfires across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as prolonged hot and dry weather created ideal conditions for outdoor blazes to start and spread.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service said crews had responded to at least 16 fires involving woodland, crops, fields and roadside vegetation since Saturday.

Residents and visitors are being urged to help protect the countryside by leaving barbecues at home, extinguishing cigarettes properly and avoiding campfires.

One of the largest incidents began shortly before 4pm on Monday, July 20, when the service was alerted to a woodland fire off Forest Lane in Tadley.

Forty-five firefighters from across Hampshire and Berkshire attended with fire engines, off-road vehicles and water carriers.

Crews contained the blaze and prevented it from spreading further before the incident was scaled down during the evening.

Relief crews took over from the firefighters who had initially responded and continued working through the night, damping down remaining hotspots.

Firefighters began leaving the scene at around 1pm on Tuesday, with one fire engine due to return later in the afternoon to reinspect the area.

Wildfire Tactical Advisor, Group Manager Larry Mackrell, said:

“We are facing a busy period of large outdoor fires as a result of the current hot and dry weather conditions we are experiencing.

“These incidents can prove devastating to our local greenspaces, whilst destroying the habitats of our wildlife across Hampshire and Isle of Wight.

“They also have a significant impact on the fire service, as to resolve them, we need to dedicate large numbers of resources for long periods of time.

“Over the past few days, our crews have had to work extremely hard in the heat to stop a number large fires across the countryside.

“The best way to tackle these fires is to prevent them from starting in the first place.

“If you’re out enjoying the countryside, we ask that you take a picnic instead of a barbecue, take your rubbish home with you, ensure smoking materials are properly extinguished and avoid lighting campfires.

“If you do see a fire in the countryside, get to safety, call 999 and provide a landmark or What3Words pinpoint to help crews in locating the incident.”

The spate of fires began in the early hours of Saturday when New Forest crews worked alongside firefighters from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service to stop a woodland blaze at a bee farm in Bransgore.

At around 9am, crews from five stations tackled a deep-seated woodland fire in Havant.

Later that day, around 30 firefighters from Hampshire and Surrey stopped a fire which destroyed one-and-a-half hectares of standing crops in North Warnborough.

On-call crews from Alresford and Horndean also extinguished a roadside vegetation fire which spread into a field at Froxfield, near Petersfield.

On the Isle of Wight, firefighters from Ryde, Newport and Cowes tackled a large field fire off Ashey Road in Ryde.

On-call crews from Shanklin later extinguished a similar fire in Sandown on Saturday afternoon.

At around midday on Sunday, firefighters in the north of Hampshire responded to a blaze affecting around 100 square metres of crops in Pamber End.

A large area of woodland later caught fire in Ashurst in the New Forest, with crews remaining at the scene into Monday to carry out inspections and damp down flare-ups.

Around two hours after firefighters began tackling the Ashurst blaze, another 30 crews were called to a fire at Alver Valley Country Park.

Firefighters worked to protect a historic village containing thatched cottages and continued checking hotspots until Tuesday morning to prevent the fire from reigniting.

More than 40 emergency calls were made after smoke from a large field fire on Hayling Island became visible for miles.

Around 55 firefighters spent nine hours tackling the blaze, which destroyed more than 12 hectares of crops.

One crew returned the following morning after a tree was found to be smouldering.

Hampshire firefighters also worked alongside Surrey crews at incidents in Ewshot and Camberley.

In East Wellow, a farm building was destroyed after a blaze began in a nearby field on Monday afternoon.

Two casualties were treated by firefighters for suspected smoke inhalation.

Around 20 emergency calls were received shortly after 6pm on Monday following reports of trees and shrubbery on fire off Bishopstoke Road in Eastleigh.

The service’s control room also received 50 calls about a fire affecting the central reservation and embankment beside the A3. The blaze was stopped by on-call firefighters.

The latest incident began shortly after 8am on Tuesday, July 21, when crews from across the New Forest and surrounding areas were called to a deep-seated fire off Lyndhurst Road in Burley.

The affected area measured around 50 metres by 50 metres.

The fire service is urging people not to start campfires or take barbecues into areas where they are prohibited, including the New Forest National Park.

Barbecues should never be left unattended or used near dry grass, bushes, fences, tents or other structures.

People are also advised to dispose of cigarettes properly, take litter home and avoid leaving glass bottles in direct sunlight.

Anyone who spots a countryside fire should move to safety and call 999 rather than attempting to tackle anything which cannot be extinguished with a bucket of water.

Callers should provide a map reference, landmark or What3Words location where possible, as well as an estimate of the size of the blaze and a description of the terrain.

Get the latest BREAKING NEWS for the SOUTH on your phone by downloading the V2 RADIO APP today! Read with ease, no annoying pop-up ads.

V2VOUCHERS.CO.UK is offering half-price deals on a wide range of experiences across the South, from meals out at local restaurants to tickets for some of the region’s biggest events.