Firefighters have returned to Headon Warren less than 2 weeks after the devastating wildfire that destroyed around 60 acres of heathland, following reports of a small flare-up at the West Wight beauty spot.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service was called at just before midday today (Tuesday) to reports of a fire measuring around 2x2m.
Although small in size, several resources were mobilised, including a water carrier and the specialist 4×4 appliance from Shanklin, due to the remote location and the potential risk of the fire spreading across the tinder-dry landscape.
On arrival, crews located the small hotspot and quickly extinguished it using knapsack sprayers.
Today’s incident comes after one of the largest wildfire responses ever seen on the Isle of Wight.
The original blaze broke out on Thursday 23rd July and rapidly spread across Headon Warren, prompting a major multi-day response involving more than 80 firefighters at its height – and even a helicopter dropping thousands of gallons of seawater onto the burning heath.
Around 60 acres of precious habitat were destroyed before the fire was finally extinguished after 5 days.
