Pictures reveal damage caused by Stoborough Heath fire

Sunday’s blaze at Stoborough Heath is said to have affected around a hectare of grassland, heath, and gorse, and caused death to wildlife.

The fire was started accidentally when a portable ‘kettle drum’ barbecue was lit, and strong winds caused an adjacent hedge to catch alight.

Fire crews from Wareham, Swanage, Redhill Park, Westbourne, Springbourne, Wimborne, and three from Poole were on scene, together with a small 4x4 appliance from Swanage, water carriers from Ringwood and Bridport, a support unit from Hamworthy, and the Unimog from Wareham – approximately 50 firefighters.

Read more: Wind-swept flame from barbecue caused Stoborough heath fire

Photos taken following the fire at Stoborough Heath were shared on RSPB Arne's Facebook. Photo: Peter Robertson, Senior Site Manager

A post on social media by RSPB Arne shared photographs of the heath following the incident. It said: “The fire blazed through gorse and heather in no time, decimating over a hectare of biodiverse heathland habitat and causing death to wildlife, including common lizard, slow worm and rare smooth snake and sand lizard.”

The nearby A351 between Wareham and Swanage was closed for several hours on Sunday while the fire was tackled. By 4pm, the fire was under control, but crews remained on scene until after midnight to deal with hotspots.

The post continued: “Huge thanks to the teams from Wareham Fire Station across the DWFireRescue region and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service for responding so quickly and averting an even more catastrophic outcome for heathland wildlife.”