A week on: Westleton plans for future as Dunwich Heath fire still burns

A week after a major wildfire tore through Dunwich Heath, firefighters remain on site tackling hidden underground hotspots as the surrounding community begins planning for the future.

Residents in nearby Westleton say life is slowly returning to normal, but the impact of the fire continues to be felt across the village as emergency services urge people to stay away from the heath.

Over the past 24 hours, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service says firefighters have had to escort dog walkers and other members of the public away from restricted areas after they entered closed sections of the site or became lost.

The service warned that although the incident is now stable, "the danger is far from over".

It said what appears to be safe, burnt ground can conceal temperatures exceeding 60°C at the surface, with significantly higher temperatures just below the ground. Underground tree roots, animal burrows and scorched earth continue to smoulder, while crews remain on site responding to hotspots identified by drone technology. A firefighting helicopter is also continuing to assist in tackling difficult-to-reach areas.

The public is being urged not to visit Dunwich Heath while roads and footpaths remain closed.

"It was a massive fireball in the sky"

George Lloyd, who lives around five minutes from the fire and works at the Westleton Crown, said the scale of the blaze was unlike anything he had witnessed.

He said: "At three o'clock in the morning, I woke up and I had a couple of messages in the group chat and I looked and it was a massive fireball in the sky.

"I thought it was maybe a house or a caravan, something like that, but no, it was a lot of fire.

"Driving that morning, going to work, you could see it in the sky: plumes of fire and all the crops were burning and dying. By 12 o'clock that day, it was massive. The fire was huge."

He said seeing at least 10 fire engines heading towards the scene brought home the seriousness of the incident.

"I've never seen it before. In 20 years of living in England, I've never seen fire like that before in my life," he said.

"It was scary. I'm not near it as such, but it's still scary to everyone."

Although he was not evacuated himself, Mr Lloyd said people began leaving the area shortly after he drove through.

The Westleton Crown later welcomed evacuees, providing food and shelter to those displaced by the fire.

"It's been different," he said.

"We've had a lot of people come into Westleton to seek shelter, food – they got fried breakfast.

"It's just been a scary moment for England and for Suffolk."

Reflecting on drone footage and photographs released by Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service since the blaze, Mr Lloyd said it was difficult to comprehend the scale of the damage.

"It's pretty shocking," he said.

"You think the fire would be contained, but it's still going on. There's still fire underground now, and they're doing a really good job out there, but it's really shocking to see somewhere that you've grown up and now it's on fire."

"How could we have done things better?"

Meanwhile, attention in Westleton has begun to shift towards recovery and improving the village's emergency response.

Barbara Buckley, Chair of the Westleton Village Hall Trustees, said the experience had highlighted both the community's resilience and areas where preparations could be strengthened.

"It's been a very interesting process in terms of how it's brought the community together, how everybody's just got on and done things," she said.

"We were having a meeting where we were thinking about how we could have done things better, what we would do differently another time, lessons that we've learned."

She said representatives from the village hall, parish council and neighbouring Dunwich would meet later this week to update the area's emergency plan.

"We hope the same thing would never happen again but there will be other incidents and we always want to be better prepared," she said.

Among the improvements being considered are better communication systems, including expanding the village's WhatsApp network and improving information for people who are not online.

Ms Buckley said the village hall had decided it would not put itself forward as a full evacuation centre in future because of its size, but could continue serving as an intermediate support hub.

The hall is currently operating as an information point for residents affected by the fire.

She said staff had helped people seeking access to properties inside the restricted area while discouraging sightseers from attempting to enter the closed site.

"There have been people... trying to get onto the site," she said.

"Most people have been very respectful but there's always some exceptional people and they break the rules."

Despite the continuing operation, Ms Buckley praised the emergency response.

"I'm completely confident that the fire services know what they're doing," she said.

"They've done an incredible job... We've had crews here from Devon and Dorset and Yorkshire. It's just incredible the support that we've been given here in Suffolk.

"I 100% trust those emergency services. They know what they're doing."

The village is now planning a fundraising event to support the recovery of Dunwich Heath, with proceeds set to benefit the National Trust and the RSPB.

"We're investing nearly £100 million"

A Government spokesperson said ministers would continue supporting the response.

They said: "We will continue to make sure that Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service have the resources and support they need to tackle the wildfire in their area – the Prime Minister reiterated this when he spoke with Suffolk's Chief Fire Officer and thanked the firefighters involved for all their efforts.

"To make sure we're ready to tackle wildfires, we're investing nearly £100 million in the biggest upgrade to national resilience in almost twenty years – including specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters."

The spokesperson added that Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service continues to receive support from neighbouring fire services through mutual aid and said the Prime Minister had made clear firefighters had the Government's "full backing".

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