MULTIPLE agencies worked together amid a heather fire in Upton which is believed to have been deliberately started.
More than 60 firefighters from various stations rushed to Upton Heath shortly before 2.30pm on Thursday 4 August to tackle a heather fire which destroyed around 0.6 hectares of land and required life wild to a safe place.
As the only viable access point to the fire was along a slip road from the Upton roundabout onto the A35, police and members of Dorset Council closed the ramp to allow dozens of vehicles from the fire services entered the site.
Representatives from the Urban Heaths Partnership and the Dorset Wildlife Trust also attended the service and managed to move the cattle away from the flames as firefighters worked to put it out.
Residents were asked to avoid the area.
Upton Heath fire. Image: Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
At the scene, incident commander Allan Frias-Robles told the Echo: “At approximately 2.30pm we received reports of this fire in Upton Heath. Firefighters initially attended from Redhill, Westbourne, Ringwood and Wimborne.
“At the height of the fire we had 10 fire engines, four ground vehicles, two water carriers and a Unimog that took care of the fire to prevent it from spreading before it reached the electricity pylons.
The incident commander has just told me that the fire, which destroyed 0.6 hectares of moorland, is now fully extinguished. Crews will continue to be reduced for at least another 2 hours. @Bournemouthecho pic.twitter.com/CA7TboeOZX
— Andrew Goldman (@AndrewDailyEcho) August 4, 2022
“We were lucky that the fire was in a fairly thin strip and thankfully the wind conditions played a big part in keeping it from spreading quickly, that really helped us.
“As the site was limited to one entrance and we had to close the motorway diversion road, crews worked very fast and hard in hot conditions to stop the fire from spreading.”
Upton Heath fire on 4th August 2022
He added that while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, it is believed at this stage to have been started deliberately.
A warden from the Urban Heaths Partnership said the fire was “heartbreaking” but the livestock had been saved thanks to the quick response of several agencies.
Fire crews remained at the scene for several hours, even after the fire was extinguished shortly after 4pm, and a member of the Urban Heaths Partnership said he would return the following day to further assess plus the extent of damage to wildlife.