Motorists were forced to abandon their cars and walk miles down a main road in searing heat to escape a major wildfire on New Forest heathland at the weekend.
The fire from a van on the A31 near Ringwood in Hampshire is still burning today with smoke visible from 30 miles away in Portsmouth, and some cars still in the area.
It comes as England’s record-breaking drought continues with 27million people now under a hosepipe ban; further areas set to be placed into an official drought today; more than 50 days without rain; and a sixth heatwave of the year later this week.
On the A31, police urged drivers to leave their cars ‘if you want to stay alive’ as they tried to clear the road yesterday afternoon to avoid the vehicles becoming ‘bombs’.
Mothers with children in prams were among those evacuated after the fire service received more than 160 emergency calls about the blaze just before 5.30pm.
At its peak 26 fire engines were attempting to bring the flames under control, with crews unbolting the central reservation in an attempt to get some cars off the road.
The area hit by the blaze is protected heathland which is home to a number of rare species including reptiles, according to the New Forest National Park Authority.
Police advised motorists who had to leave their vehicles on the A31 to call 101 with their numberplate details so arrangements can be made to get them back.
Hundreds of drivers were stuck by the fire while crews worked out how to evacuate them. Motorists explained how huge flames spread across both sides of the dual carriageway about a mile from the Canadian War Memorial just north-east of Shobley.
Drivers were ordered to the side of the road during the fire on the A31 in Hampshire yesterday
Smoke from the wildfire spreads to heathland from the A31 at Ringwood yesterday afternoon
Smoke continues to rise this morning from the major heathland blaze in the New Forest
Cows standing in front of a plume of smoke coming from the major heathland blaze today
One driver said: ‘It happened so fast. Some drivers just went straight through the flames. Others did emergency stops, turned around and tried to get back along the carriageway. It was sheer panic.’
Another motorist, who did not wish to be named, told the Daily Mail: ‘The wind picked up and I was sat for about ten to 15 minutes before the police even arrived, to which the two officers were saying completely different things and then both ended up agreeing to tell everyone to get out their cars and walk down the opposite side of the dual carriageway as the fire was spreading rapidly due to the wind picking up.
‘I got made to walk about one to two miles, but as I was walking fire rescue were trying to unbolt the central reservation to try and get some of the cars off the carriage to make the area a bit safer and to allow passage for the fire trucks.
‘After about two hours of waiting I was directed to go back to my vehicle – another one- to two-mile walk – where the fire had been controlled enough for us to safely move them off the carriageway with a police escort.’
He added: ‘The fire service did an amazing job, the fire was less than ten meters from some of the cars and none of the cars set alight.’
Motorists were urged to avoid the area and use alternative routes.
Lindsey Legg, who was travelling back to Bournemouth from Heathrow Airport with her husband and three children, told BBC Radio Solent: ‘We started seeing people abandoning their cars. Women and children were walking with buggies.
‘Police told us ‘you cant go any further’. We realised the fire was going through the field – it was pretty scary.
‘We had to abandon the car and cross the central reservation to get away from the side of the fire. We thought the car was going to go up at one point. It was pretty hairy.’
Temperatures in Hampshire rose above 30C as motorists gathered in the shade next to the road.
Libbi Aldred, 36, said she had been driving on the dual carriageway when around ten cars in front of her began slowing down and putting their hazards on.
She said there was a fire ‘in the middle’ of the road and there was ‘smoke’ and ‘billowing’ flames.
Drivers were ordered to leave their cars ‘if you want to stay alive’ on the A31 in Hampshire
A policewoman was filmed directing drivers to the central reservation after a van fire spread to the vegetation by the westbound carriageway near the New Forest
A fire officer said the fire was out of control
Smoke billowed from the trees next to the road as motorists abandoned their cars
Hundreds of drivers lined the dual carriageway as police worked out how to evacuate them
The fire spread across the ‘tinderbox bracken’ next to the road after a 30C day in Hampshire
Ms Aldred, a dog trainer from Hightown, Hampshire, said another driver – a grandfather who had his grandchildren with him – saw two cars in front of him go through the blaze but that ‘the flames were hitting’ their cars.
He and other drivers turned around and began to head for the previous exit but Ms Aldred said police told them to stay in their cars.
‘We didn’t take that advice,’ she said, because ‘the flames started coming towards us’.
As the fire spread, police arrived and ordered drivers out of their cars after flames from the van ignited ‘tinderbox bracken’, before fire engines were filmed racing towards the blaze.
A policewoman told motorists in the area to get out of their cars and move to the central reservation next to the road ‘if you want to stay alive’.
A firefighter was later overheard telling a police officer: ‘We want all the cars and people off the carriageway. Unattended cars are basically bombs when they go off.’
The van driver is thought to have escaped.
A fire officer said: ‘We believe it was a van that caught fire on the road and that set alight to the shrubs at the side of the road.’
Ms Aldred said the fire spread quickly and the wind carried it into the vegetation next to the road.
One local resident said the fire was understood to have started in a lorry close to Picket Post services.
Sue Bassett, a worker at a Shell garage at the services, said the road and petrol station had been shut but the fire had moved away from the carriageway.
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Dried out ground around the Maiden Castle Iron Age hillfort in Dorchester, Dorset, today
A worker trims the grass on a cricket pitch in Birmingham today, surrounded by dry ground
She said: ‘The smoke is visible from here – you can see smoke from miles around. It’s still going strong in the forest but not leaping on to the road.
‘There are lots of firefighters, they are pumping water up from the lakes. They are having to run out pipes over the carriageway so they can’t open up the road.’
She added: ‘It’s almost scary with the rivers running low on water – it’s a challenge.’
A New Forest National Park Authority spokesman said: ‘It’s rare heathland which globally is more rare than rainforest with lots of rare species.
‘We have the highest concentration of lowland heathland in western Europe and it’s internationally protected. It is home to all six UK native reptiles, Dartford warblers, nightjars, insects – it’s devastating.’
The spokesman added that it was too early to tell how much damage had been caused because the incident was still ongoing.
Some 26 fire engines and four water carriers were initially at the site yesterday evening, which was scaled down to ten today.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze spread from the vehicle to the central reservation before progressing into nearby heathland in a south-easterly direction towards Backley Bottom, and is in a ‘challenging rural location’.
A spokesman said today: ‘Firefighters continue to tackle the fire affecting heathland near the A31 and will remain on site for the foreseeable future. We continue to have a significant presence in the area as crews work to bring the fire under control.’
In an update, the service added: ‘The smoke, which was clearly visible across the area and from both sides of the Solent yesterday, has reduced significantly.
‘Some smoke remains visible locally, but it is now much less widespread. We currently have 10 fire engines and 10 off-road vehicles at the scene, with crews continuing to work in challenging conditions.’
The fire service has warned people living nearby that it may need to lay hoses across their property as it draws water from a nearby lake.
The statement continued: ‘Firefighters are also laying a high-volume pump (HVP) system across Ringwood to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of water to crews tackling the fire.
‘The fire is in a challenging rural location, where maintaining a steady water supply can be difficult.
‘The HVP system allows us to move large amounts of water over a longer distance, helping crews maintain a continuous supply while they work to bring the fire under control.
‘People in and around Ringwood may see firefighters and equipment involved in laying the system.
‘This is an important part of our response and will help support firefighting operations at the scene. Please do not drive over the hose as this could cause damage and result in loss of water.’
The statement added: ‘At present, there is no need for any properties to be evacuated. Should this situation change, affected households will be contacted directly.’
Forestry England said in a statement that it was supporting the emergency services tackling the fire, which it said had spread to Bratley Wood and the surrounding area which includes a Canadian war memorial.
The statement continues: ‘The fire is currently estimated as having affected over 100 hectares.
‘Incidents like this can be devastating to all of the things that make the New Forest so special. Our team will be carefully assessing the impact once the incident is fully resolved.’
Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident yesterday as two large fires in woodland put a strain on resources.
Several wildfires have broken out in the UK over recent weeks, including large blazes at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, Headon Warren on the Isle of Wight, Llanwonno in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, and the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.
According to the Fire Severity Index, any wildfires were likely to be exceptionally severe yesterday in almost all of the east and south-east of England. ‘Exceptional’ severity is the highest ranking.
The Met Office data includes rainfall, temperature and humidity, and agencies use the index to assess the severity of fire if it starts. It does not cover the chances of wildfires occurring.
Heatwave conditions will likely return later this week, with a high of 36C expected in parts of East Anglia and south-east England by Thursday, according to the Met Office.
So far the extreme weather of summer 2026 has included two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June that led to more than 2,800 excess deaths.
Two more heatwaves in July, the driest July in England and Wales since records began in 1836, have fuelled drought and wildfires. An upcoming fifth heatwave was confirmed last week.
