Wildfire destroys 12,500 acres of land on Dartmoor

A large wildfire on Dartmoor that started on Sunday afternoon has destroyed about 12,500 acres (50 sq km) of land.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said at its peak the blaze stretched across an area 3km (1.9 miles) by 1.4km (0.9 miles) and crews from 13 stations were deployed to the Dartmoor Forest area near Cut Hill.

Wildlife support officers and a police helicopter were also deployed, which confirmed there were no concerns about injuries or missing people.

In an update at 17:00 BST on Monday the fire service confirmed the fire was out.

A drone team and two all-terrain vehicles were used to check for any hot spots after the fire service said "all fire fronts were extinguished" on Monday afternoon.

It said Dartmoor Rangers would revisit the site on Tuesday.

The fire service said: "Crews were assisted by Dartmoor rangers and commoners using firefighting equipment.

"Crews used five Argo Cat vehicles, fogging units, leaf blowers and a drone for environmental protection."

The BBC understands the fire service are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Earlier it had asked people to avoid the area and advised anyone whose property was affected by the smoke to close their windows.

At about 10:45 BST, a spokesperson for the fire service asked people to avoid the Merrivale and the Okehampton range areas.

There were 10 appliances at the scene, most of which were "special fire appliances for moorland firefighting", the spokesperson said.

The service’s Devon area manager, Simon Young, said: "Wildfires are always challenging because they are inaccessible for our appliances to go onto our moorland.”

"It makes it very difficult, but we have specialist vehicles to make sure we have capability to get onto the moor and make sure we can do the job as safely as possible.

"The wind has really played its part and we are currently under amber wildfire conditions nationally for the next three to four days.

"We know the conditions are very dry under foot and with the wind it has just exacerbated it."

Head Ranger at Dartmoor National Park Simon Lee said there was "significant damage" and there was concern around wildlife and the fabric of the moor.

He said with it being a Bank Holiday weekend, they are advising people to leave this section of the moor alone, and not be tempted to "have a look".

"Let us and the emergency services do their work and not to light BBQs or fires while Dartmoor is vulnerable due to the ongoing dry weather," said Mr Lee.

The fire started at about 14:30 on Sunday and has been "burning all night", he said.

He said they were unable to get four-wheeled vehicles to access the fire, and they had used quadbikes and argocats, but even then, it was "quite a struggle".

Mr Lee said a police helicopter on Sunday evening advised people camping and visiting to "move on".

Devon and Cornwall Police warned people travelling in the area to be aware of increased levels of smoke and the risk of reduced visibility on the road.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].