Date: 14th August, 2025
We were called at 11:10am today with reports of smoke in the area of Holt Heath. We currently have 14 fire appliances in attendance. Firefighters are working hard to try and stop the spread of the fire which is being accelerated by the wind. We are also being supporting by appliances from HIOWFRS.
We have found people near the fire trying to film and watch the crews which is extremely dangerous so we are asking the public to stay away from the area. This fire is moving quickly and they could easily get caught out if they are too close and the fire spreads towards them.
5.30pm update: We have declared a major incident due to the size of this incident and its impact on the wider Service. More information can be found on the News section of this website.
9pm update: Firefighters have worked extremely hard to bring this fire under control and have saved one property from being affected by the fire spread. The fire is being extinguished using multiple pumping appliances and small 4×4 off road vehicles. Resources will be reduced overnight to six pumping appliances and two small 4×4 vehicles.
Sunday, 10 August 8:30am update: Steady progress was made over night to suppress the spread of the fire. The High Volume Pump from Devon & Somerset FRS was deployed to the scene and set up over night to provide a steady water supply. The incident is being scaled back up this morning to seven pumping appliances and three heavy off road appliances along with water carriers. The National Trust are also assisting us today to assist with creating fire breaks. Hampshire & IOW also continue to support us with resources at this incident. Approximately 69 hectares of land has been affected by fire at this stage. Local residents who had self-evacuated from their homes have now returned.
Road closures are in place which are being managed by Dorset Council. These are Holt Road Mannington, Horton Road, Three Legged Cross, Harts Lane to Amble Mead Holt, Holt Road and Lower Row, Holt
16:00 update: Firefighters are still working to manage any flare ups and hotspots using multiple pumping appliances, water carriers, small off road 4×4 vehicles and additional supporting appliances including the high volume pump. The National Trust have now left the scene and road closures remain in place to anyone other than emergency services and local residents.
8.30pm update:
Firefighters continue to work in arduous conditions and have surrounded the fire, although there are still multiple hotspots and flare ups that need to be tackled.
Crews are still being drawn from across the Service area and neighbouring FRSs, including Devon & Somerset, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Royal Berkshire.
On Monday morning, we are expecting appliances and specialist support from other parts of the country, thanks to help from the National Resilience Assurance Team.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Morrisons in Verwood and Tesco Express in West Moors for donating food and water; the Dorset Food Company for providing an on-site hot food van; the Salvation Army for supplying drinks and snacks; and the many local residents who have dropped off donations.
We’ve had lots of offers to deliver food and drink to fire stations, but we would ask for this not to happen as there may not be anyone available to take delivery. We are extremely grateful for the support and all the kind messages we have received.
1pm update, Monday 11 August: Closures remain in place at Holt Road Mannington, Horton Road, Three Legged Cross, Harts Lane to Amble Mead Holt, Holt Road and Lower Row, Holt – please avoid the area for your own safety. We again have multiple appliances on scene, with firefighters from neighbouring FRSs and national support working alongside DWFRS crews. Our thanks go to everyone supporting our firefighters at home, and to the many employers who are allowing on-call firefighters to be part of this emergency response.
5.30pm update: The fire remains surrounded and crews continue to tackle hotspots across the 69 hectare site. We currently have two water carriers, DWFRS appliances, off-road vehicles, National Resilience assets and a high volume pump in use. With hot weather forecast for the coming days, the National Trust is working to create additional firebreaks as a contingency. The advice we are receiving from national tactical advisors is that airborne water supplies would not have the desired impact at this time. However, this option remains under review and the position may change. We believe the recent spate of wildfires to be deliberate acts, and we would urge anyone with any information to contact the police or Crimestoppers.
Tuesday, 12 August 10:30am update: Good progress was made over night with a reduced crew due to working conditions. Multiple crews are back on scene today to continue to dampen down and manage hot spots identified. We are working with our partner agencies and have further assistance of national assets from other fire and rescue services. We are also being supported by Bournemouth Water and the NHS for welfare of crews who continue to work in these hot conditions.
5.30pm update: Good progress is being made across the four sectors of the fire, with support from national assets as well as our own crews. We have been working with land managers to extend firebreaks, so that property and unaffected heath can be protected from fire spread. One of the main challenges we are facing is the very hot weather, so we have been supported by partners to provide sufficient shelter in all parts of the fireground, and our Assets team has been working hard to ensure supplies of bottled water, suncream and hydration tablets are available. We are also very mindful of the environmental impact of this fire, and the Environment Agency have been on scene to review how we are managing the incident. Various voluntary agencies have been looking out for wildlife that has survived the fire, and there have been some successful rescues, including a very rare female sand lizard!
Wednesday, 13 August 9am update: Dorset Council have now implemented hard road closures on three affected roads and will be manned from 6am-6pm from Wednesday, 13 August until Friday, 15 August. National assets and DWFRS appliances remained on scene over night damping down over the four sectors of the fire ground. Bournemouth Water have also continued to assist us with water supply to the fire dam.
Our stop came in for Newton Heath at 11.09am yesterday. We have now left the incident, and it has been handed over to Forestry England who will monitor. We’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who has helped to support us with this incident.
5pm update: Crews are continuing to address hotspots with the assistance of Wessex Rescue using thermal imaging drone technology to help to identify these and good progress is being made across all four sectors. Flares ups are still igniting caused by gusty winds and we will remain in attendance with a reduced number of resources over night using specialist vehicles with off-road capabilities.
Further reptile rescues have been made by the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust coordinated and Dorset Heath Partnership team. In total, 25 common lizards, 2 slow worms, a grass snake, a sand lizard, and an adder were saved and safely relocated.
Thursday, 14 August 10am update: Two sectors are now in a watching brief stage which is very positive news. Crews are still working in the other two sectors to continue managing flare ups and hotpots with assistance of crews from Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Today the incident has been significantly scaled down to previous days and National assets from across the country are still supporting us. This morning crews from South Wales and Leicestershire are some of the crews in attendance.
5pm update: We now estimate that the area affected by fire is 72 hectares. Crews are still working in three sectors dealing with an increase in flare ups, hotspots and deep seated fires identified using drones. This is due to the weather conditions. We will remain on scene again this evening and overnight with a reduced number of appliances to four off road vehicles and two pumping appliances.
Throughout the week we have been supported by fire and rescue services from across the UK which include Devon & Somerset, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Royal Berkshire, South Wales, Leicestershire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Surrey, Bedfordshire, Avon, Essex, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Merseyside. We appreciate all the support we have received, not just from these colleagues but to everyone who has given assistance during this very challenging week.
Friday, 15 August 11am update: All of the national resources that have been on scene this week have left this morning, and the incident is now back fully in the hands of DWFRS firefighters. Today we have two fire engines, three small 4×4 appliances and a Unimog dealing with remaining hot spots. While an area of approx. 72 hectares has been destroyed by fire, around 28 hectares on the same side of the road and 900 on the other side of the road have been kept safe. The hot weather is still a risk but we are hopeful that we should be able to bring the incident to a close very soon.
4.30pm update: Just before 4pm, the stop came in for this incident, nearly a week after the fire started. We had stood down our major incident status earlier this afternoon.
After considering drone analysis (supported by Wessex Rescue) and direction from our wildfire tactical advisor, we are scaling our presence right back to heath patrols through the night and for at least the next 24 hours. During the week, 47 of our 50 fire stations have had personnel on site, often on multiple occasions. The Newton Heath fire the week before, which overlapped, had personnel from 43 of our stations, again often more than once. This huge call on our resources is why we accepted help from other Services, via the National Resilience arrangements.
There is still an Amber wildfire warning in place, so we are imploring people not to have barbecues or campfires on open ground, and to report any suspicious behaviour that could be someone setting fires deliberately.
