Firefighters in ‘better position’ as they tackle Suffolk wildfire for third day
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service say the heath fire near Sizewell B is 'stabilising'.
Last updated 11 hours ago
Fire crews battling a large wildfire near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station have said the blaze is “stabilising”, as firefighting efforts enter their third day.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said late on Thursday night that they were in a “better position” than they were a few hours earlier, although they warned that the blaze near Sizewell B was still a “dynamic incident”.
Firefighters have been tackling the blaze in Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, since Wednesday evening, with more than a hundred firefighters and a helicopter on site.
The fire is a few miles away from Sizewell B and the construction site for the new Sizewell C, though authorities said there is no concern of the fire spreading towards the power station.
The service said at least 12 fire engines will remain at the scene overnight into Friday in order to manage smaller fires that are breaking out, adding that electricity had returned to 111 of the 116 properties affected by earlier power cuts.
Earlier on Thursday, the service said the area affected had grown to 150 hectares – the equivalent of approximately 210 football pitches – with 18 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters at the scene.
It also revealed that six fire appliances from London Fire Brigade will be joining the firefighting efforts.
A statement from the fire service said: “Although the fire is dynamic, it remains stable and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service is making good progress and confident that tactics are working and moving in the right direction.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday evening, Freddie Gulliver, from the Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Unit, said there is currently no concern of the fire spreading towards Sizewell B.
Around 50 people have been evacuated from their homes and a local holiday park to Westleton, whose village hall now serves as a rest centre.
Mr Gulliver told journalists that the local community has been “absolutely fantastic” in opening up their homes, adding only a few people will need to stay in the rest centre on Thursday night.
He praised the local people that run the village hall, adding: “They’ve been absolutely brilliant at looking after everyone, so I want to stress my thanks and gratitude to everyone involved.”
Speaking to residents, he said the fire service is “confident” it is tackling the fire, including by filling trenches with water and dropping thousands of litres of seawater from helicopters.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the county’s fire service will have “all of the support” they need in tackling the blaze.
On Thursday afternoon, an EDF spokesperson said the fire was “not affecting operations at Sizewell B power station”.
The energy supplier said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and it is understood Sizewell B has an emergency plan in place that covers a range of scenarios including a fire on site.
Suffolk County Council said Cliff House Holiday Park, containing some 200 caravans, had been completely evacuated as a precaution.
Lisa Gordon, 54, on holiday with her husband and dog in their touring caravan, evacuated from Cliff House Holiday Park on Wednesday night.
Mrs Gordon told the Press Association: “Just looking at the pictures… it’s quite worrying how close it is to the park now.
“It’s a car, it’s a caravan, and it’s insured but at the end of the day it’s a lot of hassle, isn’t it?"
“They are things that can be replaced. But it’s not the relaxing day we thought we’d be having.”
She said that when she and her husband were told to leave the holiday park, they could see smoke behind the trees.
Mrs Gordon added: “It was only as we walked to reception to meet the police that all of a sudden it kind of hit us."
“So where we were it didn’t seem too bad at all. We weren’t really panicking at all."
“But as we got to sort of the reception and the entrance, then the smoke hit and we had to drive with the police through quite a lot of smoke.”
The fire service posted a video of damage caused by the blaze, which has damaged parts of RSPB Minsmere nature reserve, showing blackened trees and scorched ground.
Temperatures soared across parts of the UK on Wednesday, reaching into the 30s in some places.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for Mr Burnham to host an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the outbreak of wildfires in Britain, including in Suffolk.
According to the Met Office, Suffolk has only received 2% of its average monthly rainfall for July so far.
The forecaster said on Thursday afternoon other counties have recorded as low as 1% or 0% of average rainfall for July, with Friday being the last day of the month.