VIDEO: Firefighters and specialist wildlife units battle blaze at woodland in Rainworth
Firefighters remain at the scene of a large woodland fire at a Rainworth nature reserve after battling for seven hours overnight to extinguish the blaze.
Firefighters remain on the scene of the large outdoor fire at Strawberry Hill Heath, Rainworth, following a call received yesterday (June 6) at 4.52pm.
Crews are continuing to work hard to extinguish the fire.
Although it may only appear to be smoke, the fire is still burning underground and firefighters are using specialist equipment to extinguish the blaze.
Speaking from the scene today (July 7) Nottinghamshire Fire Service Station Manager Rich Booth said: “We had multiple appliances here and the wildfire unit from Eastwood and Tuxford, they were here for about six, seven hours last night and again we’re back here this morning and we’ve got multiple appliances again so if you could avoid the area for the rest of the day that would be great.”
He said the blaze was located in a 100 metre square area of woodland.
He added: “The problems is it may only look like it’s smouldering at the moment and smoking but the fire is still burning underneath so the specialist wildlife unit are using a specialist misting lance that they can force down into the ground and spray a mist and put the fire out underground.
Station Manager Booth has asked for residents to be mindful in the upcoming hot weather.
He added: “If you are having barbecues make sure you’re safe, make sure they’re on bricks and make sure they’re out properly afterwards.
"If you’re out walking in the woods, if you’re out walking your dog make sure any discarded cigarettes are out properly and make sure you take all your litter home with you.
“Also don’t be entering any unknown open water because we all know the dangers around that.”
Strawberry Hill Heath covers 23 hectares and is part of the historic Sherwood Forest area.