Over a dozen residents were forced to evacuate their south London homes after a fire swept over a neighbouring field this afternoon.
An estimated 20 people fled the blaze in Turtle Road, Norbury, on Sunday as heavy smoke filled the street, with over 40 houses said to have been at risk.
Around seven hectares of wasteland, shrubs and school playing fields became alight.
No reports of injuries have been made, with crews remaining at the scene.
Around 80 firefighters were dispatched in 12 engines, according to London Fire Brigade.
Emergency calls were made shortly before 12.30pm, eventually totalling close to 100.
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MyLondon photographer David Nathan at the scene spoke to locals who commended the fire teams for tackling the huge blaze.
He said: "The fences were burned down. Locals said LFB did a good job. They said fences caught fire, 20 houses were at risk had it not been for their fast action."
David described how miles of fire hose had to be used to put out the blaze as firefighters ran through narrow alleys between houses and into resident's back gardens in order to reach the fire.
He continued: "Miles of hoses had to be used. They were going through peoples gardens. There were 21 lengths of hose off one fire engine."
Station Commander Keith Sanders, who led the response at the scene, said: "Firefighters worked hard to bring the fire under control and checked local properties and gardens for fire spread.
"The fire produced heavy smoke in the area and the direction of the wind was blowing smoke towards local terraced houses.
"We encouraged people to avoid the area and asked local residents to keep windows and doors closed."
Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Smith, who was at the scene, said: "Firefighters faced a very intense and serious fire.
"There is no doubt that the dynamic actions taken by crews immediately on arrival saved more than 40 homes from the blaze.
"Hot and windy conditions made tackling the fire challenging and firefighters worked incredibly hard to save a whole street's worth of houses."
The brigade was called at 12.27pm and the blaze was under control by 4.08pm, a statement said.
Crews from West Norwood, Mitcham, Wallington, Norbury, Woodside and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by LFB and the Met Police.
In light of the incident, the Brigade has warned people against avoid having barbecues in parks, public spaces and balconies.
It added that bottles and glasses should be cleared away to avoid magnifying the sun and starting a fire.
And smoking materials should not be dropped on dry ground.
LFB said: "Disposable barbecues that have been discarded and abandoned can still end up causing a fire as they will continue to retain heat after use – they need to be put right out and cooled before being thrown away."
