UK wildfires live: Colchester and Dunwich Heath blazes rage as huge areas scorched

UK wildfires live: Colchester and Dunwich Heath blazes rage as huge areas scorched Another wildfire has started near Colchester with dozens of firefighters at the scene as another fire continues to scorch countryside at Dunwich Heath A new wildfire is ravaging countryside near Colchester with dozens of firefighters tackling the flames. News of the blaze comes after a massive wildfire at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk devastated wildlife habitats which could now reportedly take up to 25 years to recover. The area along the Suffolk coast went up in flames at about 5pm on Wednesday before engulfing an area equivalent to about 140 football pitches near Sizewell B nuclear power plant . It included parts of the RSPB's Minsmere nature reserve, which is home to rare birds and reptiles. Adam Rowlands, the Suffolk area manager for the RSPB, told the BBC some of the habitat "will take five, 10, 25 years to come back to what it looked like before the fire broke out". On Thursday afternoon, an EDF spokesperson said the fire was "not affecting operations at Sizewell B power station". Have you been affected by the fire at Dunwich Heath? Get in touch with us at [email protected] Key Events The fire at Dunwich Hill remains "changeable", Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said, but crews "are making good progress". The blaze is tackled from both the ground and the air and the situation is "currently stable", the fire service said at 11am. A major incident remains in place, however, and people are still urged to stay away from the area. Between 12 and 15 fire engines are at the scene this morning. The fire service said: "We expect the response to continue through the weekend and possibly into next week. "If this progress continues, we expect to be able to gradually reduce the number of resources at the scene. "As mentioned in our earlier update, fire and rescue assets from across the country are supporting the response, and additional resources are ready to be called upon if needed. "Roads and footpaths in the area remain closed until further notice." The force added that there are no plans to evacuate any more people at this stage and there continues to be no cause for concern regarding the Sizewell B nuclear power plant. Officials have said winds are currently pushing the fire south, from a north, north westerly direction, away from Sizewell nuclear plant and towards the coast. They say that RSPB Minsmere, which includes marshes and other waterways, is acting as a natural fire break between the fire and the plant and added that conditions were "favourable" overnight. Up to 15 fire appliances are now working at the scene, including off-road 4x4 vehicles provided by London Fire Brigade. Emergency crews are using a number of measures, including quad bikes, to reach the affected areas. Firefighters are also using water backpacks in order to get water to hard to reach areas. Suffolk fire service deputy chief fire officer Henry Griffin said: "It carries a pump so you just pump that source where you need it. "What they're doing is they're providing a bulldozer to make a track and then you’ve got three unimog off-road vehicles, which are incredible, that can access anywhere there and they have a water tank on them and a lance. "We can get vehicles and access to it, we just can't get a standard fire engine to it. It's really hard work." A holidaymaker described the Dunwich Heath fire as "like something out of an apocalypse film, like the end of the world". Connor Dowsett, 23 and from Essex, was nevacuated from his grandparents' lodge at Cliff House Holiday Park yesterday, while his dog, a shih-poo called Doug, was rescued by emergency services. Mr Dowsett told the Press Association: "We noticed the moon… it was very orange. As we were getting closer, we could see the glow of the fire. "We could see the brown smoke filling the air. The smell was powerful. It was like ‘wow’. "It was like something out of an apocalypse film. Like the end of the world. It was a scary, scary sight." Mr Dowsett added: "Our dog was obviously left in our lodge… (we) didn’t want to leave him. We were terrified. We got a member of the CID to go and pick him up." Another wildfire has started, this time in Essex. More than 30 firefighters are at the scene in Middlewick Ranges on Mersea Road in Colchester, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed. The emergency services presence was announced just after 10am today and people have been urged to avoid the area. The fire service said: "We are using a lot of the surrounding roads to park fire engines and access water hydrants. "Please keep these areas clear. We'll bring you updates shortly." A picture posted by the fire service shows thick white and grey smoke rising from the scene of the fire, which is located about 50 miles away from the blaze at Dunwich Heath. Firefighters from Essex are among those who supported Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service with the forest fire in the past 24 hours. Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and reports... Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service deputy chief fire officer Henry Griffin said: "I attended the scene around 5am this morning. Police report significant progress has been made upon the fire compared to yesterday. "That's been helped by lower temperatures overnight, lower wind speeds, and obviously lower sun conditions as well. "It remains a significant and dynamic incident. We've been working with the Met Office, looking at the wind directions to monitor and mitigate in the hotspots to prevent flare-ups and re-ignition. "It is a challenging fire to access. We've been well supported by heavy machinery from Sizewell, local landowners, and of course, the national assets that we had in place. "Currently we have 12 fire engines on the scene, a range of specialist equipment officers, and other assets to tackle this fire. "My reassurance to you, the residents here, is we're working hard to get you access in and back to your homes, your property, or if you're holidaymakers, back to get your vehicles to get home. We'll keep you up to date as we can regarding that information."Obviously, our primary risk at the moment is risk to people and property. Once we have dealt with that, we can help you get back to more things." Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and reports... Officials say they are hoping there could be "a window of opportunity" this afternoon for evacuees to return to their properties, including caravans and holiday lets to collect belongings, including vehicles. Peter Langford, emergency planning officer for Suffolk County Council, said: "At the moment, it looks like they may well be a window of opportunity early this afternoon to allow people to go back, but it will be very carefully managed, because obviously... it is still a situation that is not totally under control. "What we need to do now is plan for one person from your family group to be able to go back, to pick up possessions and pick up your cars." Mr Langford said anyone allowed to briefly return to their properties will be accompanied by the emergency services. He said: "It will be a very limited period and carefully managed. Then you will be escorted back out again." Mr Langford said there will be another briefing for evacuees at Westleton Village Hall at 1.30pm today. Devastating wildfires are becoming increasingly common amid the climate crisis - and our map reveals the areas most at risk. This week, the Environment Agency declared that half of England was in drought due to soaring temperatures and very low rainfall. Water Minister Emma Hardy has now warned people to prepare for this "new normal" wrought by climate change, as rivers run low, millions are placed under hosepipe bans - and wildfire risk increases. Firefighters have been battling intense blazes around the UK this summer, including at Dovestone in Greater Manchester, Tintwistle Moor in Derbyshire, Cairngorms National Park in Scotland and Dunwich Heath in Suffolk. Now, as global warming increases the risk of wildfires, we’ve used data from the Moorland Association to produce a map revealing the threat across the country. It shows that the High Peak constituency in Derbyshire - where the major moorland fire at Tintwistle Moor has been raging - is the area at greatest risk. Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and reports... Mr Griffin continued: "At the moment, we don't think there's been total loss to any properties. Our primary concern is life. "There's been no injury to persons or my staff, which is fantastic. They worked incredibly hard. overnight "The fire started on RSPB land. Currently at this point we do not know how it started. An investigation is underway. "There has been no total loss to any building. There has been some heat damage to some buildings - scorched cladding, melted gutters, things like that. "Based on the information I have at this point in time, there has been no total loss to any buildings, which is a remarkable feat. "The reason we declared a major incident is because the fire was significant. "Thanks to the collective efforts from firefighters, we avoided it getting into properties and the caravan sites." Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and reports... Asked if holidaymakers and residents could return to their caravans and homes, Mr Griffin said: "We're looking at that plan as we speak, as to how we get them back to their property and vehicles. "We don't know when it's going happen, but we're making a plan on that one." Firefighters have also been supported by a helicopter dropping water. Mr Griffin said: "It was a great asset. It drops a thousand litres every time, and that’s scooped from the sea. "That had a really positive effect on the fire spread. "At this point in time, it's a standby. We're not using it currently. "It's a post fire environment, a lot of charred heathland, because it's all lavender and oil based growth. "Fire travels incredibly quickly in that environment. "So what you see is the remnants of that, the skeletons of those, that nature, that place. It will recover, but it will take some time." Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and reports... Suffolk fire service deputy chief fire officer Henry Griffin is now giving an update to evacuees at Westleton Village Hall. Speaking shortly before it started, he said: "There was good progress overnight. The lower temperatures and lower wind speeds all helped with that. "Our firefighting operation carried on right through the night. We used Suffolk firefighters for the first 24 hours of this incident. "They needed to have a rest and recovery period, and we brought some national assets in to help us with that from a number of services from across the country. "Currently, we've got 12 fire engines on scene, plus a range of other specialist equipment, water carriers, instant command vehicles, and we're supported by some heavy machinery from the local farm owners and landowners to put fire brakes in currently. "We've got [crews from] London, West Yorkshire, Sussex, Northamptonshire, and Essex." Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has now given a full breakdown of all the services that have helped tackling the fire at Dunwich Heath. The service said: "Responding to the wildfire at Dunwich Heath has taken a huge team effort, and we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received. "In particular, we'd like to thank the fire and rescue services that have sent firefighters, specialist equipment and resources to work alongside our crews. "We are incredibly grateful for the support they have provided during this challenging incident." Seven fire and rescue services have contributed: - Essex County Fire and Rescue Service - Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service - London Fire Brigade - West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service - East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service - Surrey Fire and Rescue Service - Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service Local businesses, farmers, volunteers, community groups and partner agencies have also "gone above and beyond" by donating food and drinks, lending equipment and providing general support to those affected. Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and reports... Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, MP for Suffolk Coastal, said 200 families have been evacuated in all, including 50 permanent residents. She said: "It's absolutely devastating." Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and spoke to Adam Rowlands, RSPB Suffolk area manager. Mr Rowlands said it is too early to know the full scale of the impact on wildlife. But he admitted: "Shockingly, one of our site team at first light spoke about the acrid smell and said it's not just smoke, you have a sense that animals have perished in the flames so it's not a pleasant sight. "We'll wait to see in time really. With a lot of this you can only really assess the impact once you see a full season, but I think we can be pretty assured we're going to see some shocking results." Mr Rowlands added the recovery will "take years, decades, in come cases." Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and spoke to Adam Rowlands, RSPB Suffolk area manager. It is understood around 150 people have been evacuated from properties, including caravans and holiday lets, since the fire began at RSPB Minsmere on Wednesday night. Three fire engines arrived from London this morning, alongside an appliance from East Sussex and another from West Yorkshire. Adam Rowlands, Suffolk area manager for the RSPB, said: "It's still an evolving situation, described as dynamic, albeit stabilised at the moment. "Our site team are currently at the command centre briefing so I'll get an update shortly in terms of the current position. "The one thing that is a relief is last night when the wind turned northerly, we were getting lots of messages to say there was concern about further spread onto Minsmere, concern that the visitor centre and the area around there was under threat. "Our site team have been there since first light this morning and have confirmed that fortunately the marshes there appear to have stopped the spread of fire, so that area of the reserve is safe and intact." Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill is at the scene in Dunwich Heath and has been told the impact on the site has been 'catastrophic' The National Trust has been caring for Dunwich Heath since 1968. Countryside manager for Suffolk Matt Wilson said: "The impact on this site in particular is looking to be fairly catastrophic. "The latest figures are its looking to be 150 hectares in size. The whole of our site is just over 100 hectares so we're looking at total devastation across the National Trust site." Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, MP for Suffolk Coastal, said: "It's highly complex. It's very difficult to manage for lots of different reasons - it's incredibly dry, there's challenging conditions on the ground, so its not a simple fire for the fire brigade to tackle. They're doing an outstanding job." Firefighters have updated Mirror correspondent Patrick Hill who is at the scene on Dunwich Heath Firefighters are this morning tackling the blaze for a third successive day. It broke out at around 5pm on Wednesday and now covers 370 acres - the size of 200 football pitches - around Dunwich Heath. Suffolk fire service deputy chief fire officer Henry Griffin said: "Due to the scale and the unpredictable nature of the wind direction, it's not something I would use to say under control. It's certainly stabilised." Fire crews from London, East Sussex and West Yorkshire have now joined the operation, which also includes the use of a helicopter able to drop 1,000 litres of water at a time. The areas affected by the fire at Dunwich Heath include parts of the RSPB's Minsmere nature reserve which houses various rare species of birds and reptiles like Dartford warblers, nightjars, woodlarks, ant-lions and adders. The blaze - the biggest one at Minsmere "in living memory" - has had "huge" consequences for the special wildlife, Adam Rowlands, Suffolk area manager for the RSPB, told the BBC. He explained that while most species will have been able to escape the fire, the habitat has still turned into a "scene of devastation". He said: "All the vegetation will go and the majority of those birds will lose the places where they nest. "Some of that habitat will take five, 10, 25 years to come back to what it looked like before the fire broke out." Hilary McGrady, head of the National Trust, said the fire at Dunwich Heath has been "absolutely devastating". Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme this morning, she said: "The impact has been enormous [because of] the loss of this extraordinary landscape that so many people loved but the nature itself there. "There are lots of nightjars, warblers, adders - the list is just so extensive. It's got every designation you could imagine. "[Dunwich Heath is an] incredibly important site." Dr McGrady went on to say the blaze "is a climate change challenge that we're all going to have to deal with" and "do something about". Asked if the habitat is likely to recover, the director general said: "Nature is incredibly resilient. It can come back but my goodness it needs care. It needs support." A fundraising campaign will be launched today to help with the recovery of the "much loved" landscape. Dr McGrady said: "This was a place where people came to look at that beautiful purple heather. "It's much, much loved and we're going to need to start to restore it as soon as we're allowed to get back on site and we'll start the work on that straight away. "Nature will come back but we'll need to help her." Firefighters remain on scene at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk. In its latest update, issued at 5.20am today, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said "trigger points" for the fire were identified and mapped last night and crews were working across three sectors. A watching brief was maintained during darkness. - The fire at Dunwich Heath started around 5.30pm on Wednesday, with hundreds of firefighters deployed to tackle the flames, which now cover an area of around 150 hectares. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service expects the response to the blaze to continue until at least tomorrow afternoon. - Dunwich Heath is located just three miles away from Sizewell B - the UK's largest nuclear power plant. A spokesperson for EDF, the company running the power station, said on Thursday that the fire was "not affecting operations at Sizewell B power station". - Dunwich Heath, a National Trust site, was considered a "rare and precious habitat" as it housed a number of special species. RSPB Suffolk area manager Adam Rowlands said this will now take decades to recover. - Dozens of people and around 200 caravans were evacuated, with residents and holidaymakers alike woken up by banging on doors. While some had the chance to pack, others were left with no option but to leave straight away. Dozens are now supported at Westleton Village Hall. - Around 120 firefighters were at the scene on Thursday afternoon, with crews called in from other force areas, including London and Essex. The fire was described as "dynamic but stable" yesterday evening and 12 fire engines continued responding overnight. - Almost 120 properties were left without power from mid-afternoon and into the evening. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the fire service will have "all of the support" it needs in tackling the blaze. A spokesperson for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews and officers remained at the incident overnight, with a number of relief crews arriving on scene throughout, as part of a rolling programme. "Trigger points for fire were identified and mapped yesterday evening. Crews are working across three sectors, and maintained a watching brief during darkness." A number of local people have taken to social media to share their thanks to firefighters at the scene. One wrote: "Words can’t express how grateful people are to the amazing fire crews." Another wrote: "Thank you so much for everything you are doing. Our family would love to send some thank you/care packages of tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits to all the crews stations in Suffolk who attended, is it best to get their address of the gov website?We know it doesn’t come anywhere near to show our gratitude but we appreiciate it more than you’ll know." A couple from Essex have recalled how they escaped the Suffolk wildfire as they and hundreds of other caravan park guests were evacuated. Stephen Bullock and his partner Christine Miller were staying at Dunwich Cliffs Estate caravan park, having travelled from Canvey Island in Essex for a three or four day stay. He became aware of smoke drifting across fields "quite a way away" at 5pm, which persisted for a few hours, then died down, so they watched a bit of TV and went to bed. However, at 11pm there was "frantic banging" on the caravan door as the park warden was evacuating visitors, flashlight in hand. Britain's extreme weather is set to persist throughout August - and is set to lead to the highest number of heat-associated deaths on record this year. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported the number of excess deaths caused by heatwaves so far this year is already more than double the number for the whole of last year. The Met Office says August is likely to be hotter and drier than usual. Making the start and spread of wildfires a higher risk. Read the full story here. The fire service have confirmed that power is back on at most of the properties impacted. In a statement posted just after 10pm on Thursday, the service said: “Power is back on at 111 of the 116 affected properties." The large wildfire near on the Suffolk coast is “stabilising”, the county’s fire service said. In a statement posted just after 10pm on Thursday, the service said: “Although this remains a dynamic incident, the situation appears to be stabilising and we believe we are in a better position than early this evening at 5pm. Power is back on at 111 of the 116 affected properties. “Our fire control team is getting a lot of calls about the smell of smoke at properties nearby. This is to be expected as night falls and smoke/ash drops to the ground. “We are reiterating our safety messages about keeping doors/windows closed, and calling 999 if in danger.” Mr Gulliver said he had not been told about reports the fire had expanded and said he could not comment on whether the number of firefighters tackling the blaze will increase. He added: "The community that run the village hall here have been absolutely phenomenal. They've been cooking evacuees breakfast and making them lunch and dinner as well and they'll be continuing that tonight and tomorrow morning as well. "They've been absolutely brilliant at looking after everyone so I want to stress my gratitude." He added firefighters are planning to continue working through the night. Freddie Gulliver, emergency planning manager, Suffolk joint emergency planning unit, updated evacuees at a 6pm briefing at Westleton village hall. He said: "The fire service are using 15 fire engines, plus a command vehicle. Their tactics are working and they are making good progress attacking the fire from the north by digging trenches and filling it with water as well. "They also have a helicopter as well that is dropping water and that is also helping with controlling the fire as well, so good progress is being made. "That said anything can still happen until the fire is out. It's still moving about at the moment. "They are getting extra engines from London as well as part of the national support they asked for." He added: "Fingers crossed they are hoping for a light shower tonight. We're not sure, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that might help." Organisers said the helicopter dropping water is from the National Trust. Angela Rayner has paid tribute to firefighters tackling a major wildfire in Suffolk. In a video posted to social media, the Communities Secretary said: “I want to pay tribute to the brave firefighters that are tackling the wildfire in Suffolk. Thank you. Your skill and dedication and bravery is outstanding. “My thoughts are also with the residents that have had to leave their homes. I know it’s incredibly difficult circumstances. The Prime Minister has made clear that the whole of Government will ensure that the fire and rescue services mutual aid and local services have all the resources they need.”