Wanstead Flats fire: Dramatic aerial images show scale of huge grass fire in east London
Dramatic aerial images show the huge scale of a grass fire that engulfed an area the size of 100 football pitches in east London.
More than 225 firefighters battled the enormous blaze which erupted on shrubland in Wanstead on Sunday .
A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said they were still damping down the fire this morning but it was under control.
Families who had been out for the afternoon were unable to return home as police closed a number of roads, while a local petrol station was shut down over safety fears.
At the height of the fire, which broke out just after 4pm, more than 100 hectares of burning grass sent billows of smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.
The NPAS said they were in attendance to help “keep members of the public safe” while road closures were in place.
#NPAS61 assisting @MPSRedbridge @MPSWForest @MetTaskforce and other officers from @metpoliceuk keep members of the public safe while road closures and diversions were put in place to allow the @LondonFire attend and deal with a large grass fire on Wanstead Flats. #Teamwork pic.twitter.com/EZ85QSJWhW
— NPAS London (@NPASLondon) July 15, 2018
London Fire Commissioner, Dany Cotton, called the inferno a “challenging fire” and thanked those who were on hand to help control it.
She tweeted: “Just got back from the 40 pump grass fire at Wanstead Flats. Thank you to all @LondonFire crews and control staff who worked very hard to deal with this challenging fire. Crews will be on scene throughout the night.”
Just got back from the 40 pump grass fire at Wansted Flats. Thankyou to all @LondonFire crews and control staff who worked very hard to deal with this challenging fire. Crews will be on scene throughout the night. pic.twitter.com/eWxXwvUl3M
— Dany Cotton (@LFBCommissioner) July 15, 2018
Group Manager Rob Davies, who was at the scene of the fire, said: “This was a large grass fire and while Wanstead Flats is an area of grass land, crews had to work very quickly to stop it from spreading.
"Smoke was making conditions very difficult for firefighters and causing a lot of disruption to local roads.
“Grass fires can embed into the ground and so while it is now smouldering, crews will be there into the night to keep damping down the earth."