Wiltshire Times reports that a major incident was declared in Wiltshire and Dorset as firefighters battled a wildfire on grassland near the Westbury White Horse in Bratton. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was dealing with a large number of incidents across its service area while nearby residents were told to close doors and windows if smoke reached them.
About four acres, or 1.6 hectares, were found well alight, and crews used hose reel jets and beaters to tackle the blaze. The response came after people were warned earlier to avoid Westbury following the wildfire there.
Neil Adams and the smoke
Resident Neil Adams said the scene was difficult to see. "It's such a landmark and to see it going up in flames is pretty emotional to be honest." He also said, "Everywhere's become so dry and if it got up on [Salisbury] Plain I don't think they'd be able to stop it."
Adams added, "You see these fires all the time, they've got that one in the New Forest, but when you see it close to home it just makes you think." His comments reflected the practical concern for people nearby: smoke, dry grassland and a fire close enough to trigger the major incident response.
Westbury White Horse in Bratton
The understood the blaze was still some distance from the famous white horse chalk figure, even though it appeared to be burning next to the landmark. That leaves the immediate question focused on distance rather than the existence of a fire: how close the flames actually came to the chalk figure, and whether the landmark itself was ever at immediate risk.
For residents near Westbury, the only action stated in the response was to close doors and windows if affected by smoke. The fire service was still handling incidents across its area as the report was published, so the practical advice remained to follow that smoke warning and avoid the area if it was already in place.
