Neighbours in a Nottinghamshire village have described a huge fire which led to hundreds of homes being evacuated as "like something out of a film". A major incident was declared on Tuesday, July 19, the hottest day the country has ever recorded, after a huge woodland blaze in Blidworth.
At its peak, locals say there were 77 firefighters all working to bring the fire under control, while police closed roads and took residents from their homes, with others encouraged to keep their windows closed to combat the thick smoke seen overhead. In a statement the following day, the fire service said: "We still have five appliances currently at the incident in Blidworth.
"The fire is under control and crews are working hard to extinguish any hotspots that may appear. Let's hope the weather is on our side today, but we want to remind you all to stay safe outdoors."
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Anna Nurse and her three children had to evacuate their home at around 2pm as fire engines and tractors made their way up Haywood Oaks Lane to try and make sure it didn't spread further. She rang the fire brigade to tell them about what was happening, as she could see smoke billowing into the sky from the woodland not far from her house.
"I could see the smoke and it kept drifting," she said. "I could see it was getting bad. I was really, really scary - we had three children as well as 10 chickens and we were told the fire could reach us and potentially even cross the road.
"Police blocked the road, the kids were crying - it was pretty surreal. Like something out of a film. The street was literally lined with fire engines, tractors, police, riot vans."
She estimates that more than a hundred homes were evacuated across Blidworth as police and fire crews tried to ensure everyone was safe while they worked on bringing the fire under control. Residents like Ms Nurse were not given an option, instead told evacuation was mandatory and they had to go as quickly as possible.
She continued: "How the community pulled together was unbelievable, farmers were helping wherever they could with machinery and digging trenches. I've never seen anything like it. In all my life, I've never seen so many emergency vehicles all in one place. It was frightening."
Ms Nurse's mother Jackie Emsom was also with the family supporting them and they even looked after their 90-year-old neighbour, to make sure he was okay and safe during the height of the blaze. Residents were then allowed back into their homes later that evening at around 8.30pm, although crews continued to work long into the night and then Wednesday morning (July 20).
Michael Robinson, 82, and his wife Heather had to be evacuated. He said: "We evacuated quite early on, as soon as we were told to. We went to my sister’s in Southwell for around two hours before coming back.
"We didn’t realise how big it was until we came back, really. I have to say the fire service were absolutely amazing, as were the police.
"They were brilliant. We’ve been told to be on alert to maybe evacuate again today, but hopefully they have brought it under control now. I’m an artist and my wife is a photographer so we have a lot we want to keep in the house, which is why it was worrying for us."
Martin Fletcher, who has lived in Blidworth for the past 35 years, said: "Houses were evacuated a bit further up this road - it was really bad yesterday. Fire engines came up this road and it was all blocked off.
"I’ve not seen anything like it for a number of years, not since they were burning stubble. I’m just grateful this field near me now is a horse field, because if it was still a corn field it would have caught fire like that and it goes right into the village."
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