Firefighters are battling a severe wildfire in the New Forest for a seventh day, after millions of people received an emergency alert for fires on Friday evening.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service’s assistant chief fire officer Rob Cole said: “I’m pleased to say we are getting on top of this. However, there are many days of work ahead of us to ensure that this fire doesn’t spread when the wind blows or when other hotspots start to occur.”
Fire crews have spent almost 10,000 man-hours at the major incident, as the brigade confirmed that the scale of the fire was approximately 1.6 square kilometres. At least 93 fire stations have deployed 169 different fire appliances.
Mr Cole said: “We are starting to get on top of this large fire in the New Forest. It is covering a huge area of New Forest land consisting of trees, bush areas, heathland that on Sunday night caught fire on what was started off as a vehicle fire very close to the central reservation, and then jumping across the A31 onto this land.
“It includes such a vast area, we had to have so many firefighters fighting this fire 24/7.”
The A31 is expected to remain closed until Thursday.
The government issued an emergency alert on Friday at 7pm to millions across England and Wales, warning them not to light anything which could spark a wildfire, including barbecues and garden incinerators.
Wildfires have caused devastation across large parts of the UK, including in Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, where 19 homes were destroyed.
The prime minister, Andy Burnham, announced a ban on disposable barbecues, as he told members of the public to take the warning “seriously” and that it was triggered at the request of firefighters.
Fire services urged people not to call 999 to report people having barbecues unless there is an emergency after receiving a high volume of calls following the alert.
Surrey Fire & Rescue Service said on social media: “Please only call 999 if there is an emergency or a fire producing significant smoke.
“We understand residents may be concerned, but we are unable to respond to reports of neighbours having BBQs, bonfires or campfires in their gardens unless there is an emergency.”
