This is the aftermath of a huge fire in South Bristol that shows just how close it came to people's homes.
The blaze, which firefighters said was started deliberately in different places on the Northern Slopes, came to within yards of the homes at the end of Lurgan Walk in Knowle West on Friday evening.
Residents came out of their homes and watched nervously as the flames spread up the hill from Kingswear Road and approached the back gardens of homes on Lurgan Walk and Glyn Vale.
Read more: Huge grass fires which threatened homes in South Bristol were started deliberately
Firefighters, who had come from Patchway and Southmead because the more local firefighters were already dealing with other incidents, managed to extinguish the blaze in time.
But fire chiefs said they were concerned that someone had started a fire in tinder-dry vegetation and grass so close to people's homes.
This morning, the full extent of the blaze and how close it came to homes and gardens can clearly be seen. In the blackened, charred mess of the section of the Northern Slopes between Kingswear Road and Lurgan Walk, the soil was dusty ash, the vegetation was either shredded and charred or burnt away altogether. In the ashes, the damage to an abandoned child's bike shows how intense the fire was.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service duty group commander Dave Hodges said the blaze was a big one. “We were first called to the location off Kingswear Road at 9.19pm to reports of a fire and found it already well alight,” he said.
The crews used a combination of hose reels, beaters and drag forks to put out the blaze and spent an hour at the location. What was worrying to the crews on the ground was that there were multiple seats of fire, and that it was a case of deliberate ignition.
"That's quite concerning to us, because someone has gone along the Northern Slopes setting a series of fires on very dry grass and trees.
“Given the conditions at the moment, a fire like this can spread extremely quickly - all it needs is a bit of wind and it can start to affect fences and gardens and then people’s houses.
“The police did attend and they will be following this up,” he added.
The fire is the latest in a series of blazes on Bristol’s tinder dry open spaces that have gone from green to brown under near-drought conditions.
There have been multiple fires in locations like Stoke Park, The Downs, Manor Woods Valley and in Southmead, with many started by people having disposable barbecues on very dry grass.
The fire on the Northern Slopes is not thought to be the result of disposable barbecues - it started too late and in too many different spots along the slopes behind Glyn Vale.
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