2020 Wareham Forest Fire
Most updates taken from Social Media due to Coronavirus lockdown & Park Closure
Follow link to Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Services:
When we reopen our usual rule of NO CAMP FIRES (no wood burning of any sort) will continue to be enforced. We allow supervised gas or charcoal BBQ’s in suitable containers raised off the grass and with a bucket of water or sand nearby.
Due to this terrible fire, we have decided to no longer be sell disposable BBQ trays in our shop.
We want the forest and wildlife to remain for everyone to be able to enjoy so please be sensible and take care of our precious natural resources.
We reiterate the continual message from the fire service "In light of all of this, PLEASE do not have campfires or use disposable barbecues in our forests and heathlands. As we have seen, the effect can be devastating."
More information on staying safe and enjoying our outside areas whilst avoiding a wildfire starting can be found here
Handover of Wareham Forest back to Forestry England
Wareham Fire Station (from Facebook page)
Wimborne Fire Station was out this morning looking for hotspots before the Wareham Forest Fire site was officially signed back to Forestry England. It has been a long hard job and we would like to extend our thanks to you the public for the cakes, drinks and all the waves and well wishes.
Amazing work by all partner agencies and other services it really was a team effort.
From Dorset Fire and Rescue:
31 May 2020
As expected given the weather conditions, there have been a number of flare-ups within the forest today and we have mobilised additional resources to the scene to assist with damping down. We already had a Land Rover pump there on a watching brief, working alongside Forestry England patrols, and have now sent another two Land Rover pumps, six fire engines, two water carriers, the Unimog from Wareham and a support unit. This will allow us to deal with multiple areas at the same time.
30 May 2020
The majority of resources on scene have now left and we are keeping a one appliance watching brief for the remainder of the weekend, working alongside colleagues from Forestry England to patrol and monitor the site.
Sugar Hill Road has now been reopened, and our thanks to Dorset Police for managing this closure.
The wildfire risk for the coming days remains extreme, and we need local residents and visitors to the area to resist any activity that could lead to a fire starting.
27 May 2020
Although the fire is no longer spreading, crews will be on site overnight, and we expect to be there throughout tomorrow and tomorrow night to continue damping down hotspots and monitoring the perimeter.
We are asking that the public please DO NOT travel to the area for walking, cycling or other leisure activity as there are still lots of vehicle movements and hotspots. The wildfire danger is extreme at present
24 May 2020
Virtually every fire station in Dorset and Wiltshire has now sent firefighters to this incident at least once, and a resourcing cell is working around the clock to ensure that fire cover is maintained across the Service.
The helicopter in use yesterday has now been stood down for the time being but will be redeployed should it be needed.
Fire Hot Spots Reigniting Friday
Wareham Forest update:
Over 150 firefighters back on scene trying to keep on top of the flare ups caused by the strong wind.
The smoke has travelled as far as #Bournemouth, #Poole, #Ferndown and #Wimborne. PLEASE DO NOT have BBQs or bonfires over the bank holiday weekend
Due to current weather conditions we have received an AMBER alert for wildfire for the next 4 days. Please stay fire-aware when out.
More information on staying safe & enjoying our outside areas whilst avoiding a wildfire starting can be found here
Dorchester Fire Station
Some pictures from Wareham Forest whilst we’re dealing with what is now declared as a Major Incident. Photo taken from twitter link:
A helicopter was brought in to ‘water bomb’
the wildfire in Wareham Forest earlier today.
The fire had flared back up due to the strong
winds. The extra support from the sky was
much appreciated!
Possible cause found from Fire Investigation
Taken from website: www.dwfire.org.uk/news/wareham-forest-fire/
21 May 2020 12.45pm
Following a fire investigation, which has been ongoing since Monday, we now believe the cause of this fire to be accidental, due to social activity in the forest. While we cannot pinpoint the exact cause, we have found evidence of multiple disposable barbecues, campfires and glass bottles.
Due to the current weather and weekend forecast, we have received an AMBER alert for wildfire. This means that, should we experience another wildfire, it could spread quickly and easily due to the dry and windy conditions. As we have seen here, wildfires take a great deal of resources and time to bring under control. Please stay fire-aware when out and about and please stay vigilant.
In light of all of this, PLEASE do not have campfires or use disposable barbecues in our forests and heathlands. As we have seen, the effect can be devastating.
More information on staying safe and enjoying our outside areas whilst avoiding a wildfire starting can be found here
Update from Forestry England
20 May 2020 3pm
Press release from Forestry England, which owns and manages Wareham Forest.
Update from the fire service
TWITTER: DWFireRescue
‼️Wareham Forest fire update‼️
We still have 100 firefighters on scene at #WarehamForest they will remain in attendance for at least the next 12 hours.
The fire is believed to have affected 183 hectares of forest and heathland.
The A35 is still closed at #BereRegis due to the smoke from the fire. Please stay away from the area and find an alternative route.
We also continue to urge residents in the Bournemouth, Poole, Ferndown and Wimborne areas to keep their windows and doors closed today due to the smoke plume.
There is currently no disruption to electricity supplies.
#fire #firefighting #wareham #dorset #fireengine #staysafe
Declared a Major Incident
18 May 2020
MAJOR INCIDENT DECLARED The #Wareham forest fire has now been declared as a major incident. This is a protected incident and we expect it to carry on for the next 24 hours. Please continue to avoid the area and keep windows closed due to the smoke.
Severe Fire in Wareham Forest close to Birchwood Tourist Park
Today there has been a large forest fire in Wareham Forest. We have been contacted by some of our customers, and we wanted to let you know the Chief Fire Officer has told us the campsite is not in danger as the fire is moving away from the Park.
There has been over 150 firefighters tackling the fire, and we offered our assistance to use our games field as a helipad.
There has been a lot of smoke and roads close to us have been closed.
Everything is OK on the campsite, and we are monitoring the situation carefully.
Very sadly approx. 100 hectares of heath, woodland and wildlife has been affected.
