Homes evacuated as major incident declared in Dorset due to wildfires
A major incident has been declared and a number of homes have been evacuated due to two wildfires in Dorset.
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More than 100 firefighters are battling one of the blazes on Holt Heath, near Bournemouth.
Firefighters are also tackling a blaze at Newton Heath, near Swanage, affecting an area about the size of 35 football pitches that has been burning since last Sunday.
People have been asked to stay away and locals are instructed to keep windows and doors closed.
Plumes of smoke - which are visible for miles - have been seen rising over the heath.
Multiple fire engines and specialist wildfire teams are working to bring the fires under control.
Due to windy conditions, 20 homes near the Holt Heath fire have been evacuated as a precaution, according to local news.
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'Spreading quickly'
In a post on social media, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We are currently dealing with a large fire at Holt Heath.
"This fire is spreading quickly & we strongly advise people to stay away from the area for their own safety.
"If you are a local resident are advised to keep doors & windows closed."
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Darren Langdown said: “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.”
“I would ask the public to help us by staying away from the affected areas; the fire at Holt Heath, in particular, is spreading rapidly and anyone trying to see what’s going on could be cut off very easily.
“We would also ask photographers not to fly drones near the fire, as we are using drones provided by Wessex Rescue to help us direct our firefighting.”
