Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters were battling a large wildfire near the Westbury White Horse in Bratton, Wiltshire. An area of around four acres was well alight, and people were urged to avoid the area.
Nearby residents were told to close doors and windows if affected by a large amount of smoke. Fire crews used hose reel jets and beaters to tackle the blaze on grassland near the landmark.
Westbury White Horse in Bratton
The fire broke out close to the Westbury White Horse, an iconic white horse hill figure, which put the response into a familiar local setting. For residents, the immediate instruction was simple: stay clear of the area and limit smoke exposure indoors if it reached their homes.
The scale mattered because crews were dealing with a spread across around four acres, not a small patch of scorched grass. That required a direct attack with water and manual beaters rather than a single quick sweep through the site.
Hackpen Hill in Wiltshire
The Westbury White Horse blaze followed a similar incident near a white horse carving on Hackpen Hill in Wiltshire. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service believes that earlier fire was started deliberately, but it did not state what caused the Westbury White Horse wildfire.
That leaves the main question open: what caused the wildfire near the Westbury White Horse? Until that is answered, the practical advice for anyone nearby stays the same — keep away from the area and shut doors and windows if smoke drifts in.
