Update on cause of Westbury White Horse fire amid heatwave

Fire at Westbury White Horse. <i>(Image: Trevor Porter)</i>
Fire at Westbury White Horse. (Image: Trevor Porter)
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The cause of a huge fire near a prominent Wiltshire landmark cannot be determined, the fire service has said.

The fire broke out in a field beside Westbury White Horse just after 4pm on Thursday, August 13 before multiple crews battled to extinguish the flames.

No cause was initially disclosed, and a Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service has now said that the cause of the fire cannot be determined.

As previously reported, around four acres of grassland were “well alight” and firefighters from Trowbridge, Warminster, Melksham, Corsham, Westbury and Ludgershall raced to the scene in response.

During the height of the incident, residents were warned to close their windows and doors due to the large amount of smoke caused by the fire.

On the morning of Friday, August 14, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service issued a further update confirming that the response had been scaled back, with some crews still on the scene after fighting the fire overnight.

At the time, a spokesperson for the service said: “The incident was scaled down to three pumping appliances overnight where crews continued to dampen down hotspots using hose reel jets and main lines and relief crews will be deployed later this morning.”

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