Huge wildfire devastates Upton Heath nature reserve after Met Office fire warnings

A huge wildfire swept through a nature reserve overnight after an exceptionally dry spell following Met Office fire warnings.

Thick smoke and orange flames rose into the air at Upton Heath in Poole, Dorset, following a wildfire.

Numerous emergency crews cordoned off the area near the A35 Upton Bypass as the flames approached the road, creating an apocalyptic scene.

The Bournemouth and Poole areas experienced a prolonged dry spell and above-average temperatures for this time of year before the fire.

The wildfire broke out shortly before midnight and destroyed more than 37 acres, the fire service said.

Crews are also tackling another fire on Canford Heath this morning around three miles east of Upton Heath, the fire service said on social media.

Shocked Upton Heath residents took to social media to share footage of the blaze as the inferno was seen spreading in the distance behind apartment blocks.

Nearby roads were closed as the flames raged on in the Upton Country Park (Picture: Alamy Live News)

One resident said: ‘Massive fire by Holes Bay getting worse by the second.’

Another one wrote: ‘This is heartbreaking. Everything is just starting to come back to life, birds are nesting everything is renewing and now it’s all on fire. It just breaks my heart.’

Footage of the Poole fire looks alarmingly similar to the massive Los Angeles wildfires, which destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 29 people.

LA was turned into ‘hell on earth’ after one of the worst fires in the city’s history forced 150,000 people to leave their homes and took days to get under control.

The fire in Poole bears striking similarities to the Los Angeles wildfires in January (Picture: Alamy Live News)

This isn’t the first fire in Dorset – there have been two previous incidents on Monday and Tuesday, forcing a country park near the Hampshire border to close, according to BBC News.

Moors Valley Country Park and Forest said it will remain closed today as firefighters ‘continue to monitor a number of fires and assess their impact.’

People were told to stay away from the park and the surrounding forest ‘until it is confirmed that the area is safe.’

It comes after the Met Office warned of a risk of wildfires breaking out as the UK saw the hottest day of the year so far in parts of England.

Temperatures in the south of England are expected to climb to up to 23°C tomorrow in the south, while temperatures could also reach 20°C in the north heading into the weekend.

A map shows today’s peak temperatures across the UK (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

The UK has seen a record-breaking March for sunshine, the forecaster said.

Its records show March was the sunniest in England since records began in 1910.

The Upton Heath Nature Reserve is an internationally important habitat home to six nature reptiles and 16 species of dragonflies.

Visitors have views across the Poole Harbour, Corfe Castle and the Isle of Purbeck.

The nature spot is also ‘vulnerable to damage by man from fires, visitor impacts and pressures from the adjacent urban areas,’ Dorset Wildlife Trust said.