Wildfire tears through UK beauty spot with warning issued across the country

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A huge wildfire tore through a nature reserve overnight after an exceptional dry spell following Met Office fire warnings.

Thick smoke and orange flames billowed into the air at Upton Heath in Poole, Dorset, after a wildfire.

Dozens of emergency crews cordoned off the area near the A35 Upton Bypass as the flames came close to the road in an apocalyptic scene.

The Bournemouth and Poole areas have seen an extended dry spell and above-average temperatures for this time of year before the fire.

A huge wildfire in Poole, Dorset burning pylons and trees in orange flame. — A wildfire is ripping through Upton Heath at Poole, Dorset, after a dry spell (Picture: Alamy Live News)

The wildfire broke out shortly before midnight and destroyed more than 37 acres, the fire service said.

Crews tackled another fire on Canford Heath this morning around three miles east of Upton Heath, the fire service said on social media.

The fire service: ‘Firefighters from across our area are tackling the blaze, which has affected an area of around 500m x 50m.

A wildfire in Upton Heath, Poole, Dorset, seen in the distance burning through a nature park. — Nearby roads were closed as the flames raged on in the Upton Country Park (Picture: Alamy Live News)

An aerial image showing scorched ground at Upton Heath, Poole, Dorset, after a wildfire. — The fire at Upton Heath started shortly before midnight and burned an area of 350 yards by 550 yards by the time it was extinguished at about 7am (Picture: Max Willcock/BNPS)

‘Many of these crews have been working through the night at the Upton Heath fire.

‘At this stage, we don’t know what caused the fire to start, but an investigation will take place once the fire is fully under control.’

Harvey Pocklington, 19, who lives three miles from the Upton Heath fire, said he feared the blaze could be lethal.

He said: ‘I’m shocked and saddened for the wildlife and I’m pleased nobody was hurt.’

Rachel Hussey, 38, said the sky was ‘so red’ after the Canford Heath fire, which broke out in the morning.

An aerial image showing the aftermath of a wildfire in Canford Heath, Poole, Dorset. — Canford Heath after the fire today with scorched grassland after the second fire in Poole (Picture: BNPS)

Shocked Upton Heath residents took to social media to share footage of the blaze as the inferno was seen raging in the distance behind apartment blocks.

One resident said: ‘Massive fire by Holes Bay getting worse by the second.’

Another one wrote: ‘This is heartbreaking. Everything is just starting to come back to life, birds are nesting everything is renewing and now it’s all on fire. It just breaks my heart.’

A resident commented on the Canford Heath fire: ‘Not again. The damage to this beautiful nature reserve and its wildlife will be so severe.’

In Scotland, firefighters were called to a large grass fire at Gartur Moss in Port of Menteith, Stirling. Earlier in the week, crews put out a fire near Bonhill, West Dunbartonshire, and another near Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire.

The Scottish fire services urged people not to light fires outside due to a ‘very high to extreme’ wildfire risk warning in place across the country until Monday.

Huge wildfire near Poole, Dorset, overnight as it burns through nature reserve in orange flames. — The fire in Poole bears striking similarities to the Los Angeles wildfires in January (Picture: Alamy Live News)

Footage of the Poole fire looks alarmingly similar to the massive Los Angeles wildfires, which destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 29 people.

LA was turned into ‘hell on earth’ after one of the worst fires in the city’s history forced 150,000 people to leave their homes and took days to get under control.

This isn’t the first fire in Dorset – there have been two previous incidents on Monday and Tuesday, forcing a country park near the Hampshire border to close, according to BBC News.

Moors Valley Country Park and Forest said it will remain closed today as firefighters ‘continue to monitor a number of fires and assess their impact.’

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People were told to stay away from the park and the surrounding forest ‘until it is confirmed that the area is safe.’

It comes after the Met Office warned of a risk of wildfires breaking out as the UK saw the hottest day of the year so far in parts of England.

Temperatures in the south of England are expected to climb to up to 23°C tomorrow in the south, while temperatures could also reach 20°C in the north heading into the weekend.

A weather map showing temperatures in the UK today, Thursday. — A map shows today’s peak temperatures across the UK (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

The UK has seen a record-breaking March for sunshine, the forecaster said.

Its records show March was the sunniest in England since records began in 1910.

The Upton Heath Nature Reserve is an internationally important habitat home to six nature reptiles and 16 species of dragonflies.

Visitors have views across the Poole Harbour, Corfe Castle and the Isle of Purbeck.

The nature spot is also ‘vulnerable to damage by man from fires, visitor impacts and pressures from the adjacent urban areas,’ Dorset Wildlife Trust said.

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