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Published:
March 20, 2006
Firefighters
tackle major heathland blaze at Crook Peak, near Burnham
More
than 35 firefighters from across Somerset tackled a major heathland
blaze at Crook Peak, near Burnham-On-Sea, on Monday afternoon.
Seven
crews were at one point dealing with the fire on the northern
side of the hill, which was alight for more than four hours.
 Smoke
from the blaze disrupted traffic on the nearby M5 motorway as
motorists slowed down to see the fire, which had been fanned by
gusty winds.
A
Somerset Fire and Rescue spokesman told Burnham-On-Sea.com that
it was believed a controlled fire in a nearby field had got out
of control at around 3.30pm, leading to the dramatic scene.
Fire
appliances had rushed to the scene, including two pumps from Cheddar,
a water carrier from Bridgwater, a command support unit from Street,
plus further pumps from Weston, Blagdon and Winscombe.
The
spokesman added: "The fire was fought by crews using beaters
and was finally brought under control at 7.35pm."
"Damage
was restricted to a large area of heath on the side of the hill.
The cause was accidental spread from controlled burning being
carried out by the National Trust."
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