A NUMBER of wildfires broke out on the Blackdown Hills above Wellington on Wednesday (August 12) as the fifth heatwave of the year continued to bake the area.

Temperatures were again above the 30C mark and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (DSFR) warned of the tinder dry conditions.

Roads were closed and motorists were diverted as Avon and Somerset Police officers supported the DSFR firefighting teams.

Several of the fires broke out in fields near the landmark Holman Clavel public house and the B3170 crossroads between Corfe and Churchinford, while another was tackled in the Hemyock area.

Roadside verges and nearby scrubland were ablaze, with suspicions pointing to the possibility of a discarded cigarette butt.

Six fire engines and a water bowser from stations in Somerset and Devon were mobilised to a fire which spread across two fields on the Upottery side of Churchinford.

The crews came from Wellington, Yeovil, Ottery St Mary, Axminster, Colyton, Honiton, and Middlemoor, in Exeter.

The fire was surrounded and the firefighters quicky made progress using four hose reel jets, beaters, and two agricultural tractors.

A police spokesperson said the B3170 and surrounding roads had to be closed while emergency services attended the incidents including past the Holman Clavel and the Holly Bush campsite.

People were advised to look for alternative routes and to plan their journeys ahead of time.

Some traffic was diverted as far as Bishopswood to skirt the affected areas.

DSFR has been experiencing its busiest period in 10 years with this summer’s spate of wildfires, receiving more than 5,300 calls in just one month, 756 of them being to attend fires, an average of 28 fires a day compared to the usual daily average of 12.

It has attended nearly 500 outdoor fires, meaning about two-thirds of all fires were in the open.