Cause of fire that destroyed heathland unknown
BBCAn investigation has been unable to find the cause of a fire that wrecked part of a heathland in Norwich.
Smoke billowed from Mousehold Heath on the outskirts of the city on 13 August, shortly after Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) declared a major incident due to a large number of call-outs.
Crews from 28 of Norfolk's 42 fire stations attended the blaze at its height and an area of about 30,000 sq m - about the size of four football pitches - was destroyed.
"Unfortunately, due to the destruction of the area and extensive scale of the fire damage, we have not been able to determine the cause of the fire on this occasion," said Emyr Gough, NFRS head of prevention and protection.
The fire service said the Mousehold Heath fire and major incident had been part of an "exceptionally busy summer", with August on track to be its busiest on record.
On 13 August, crews tackled, among other incidents, a wildfire at Holgate Hill, near Kelling Heath, fires in King's Lynn and nearby Terrington St Clement and a fire that damaged classrooms at Thomas Bullock Primary Academy in Shipdham, near Dereham.
The protocol - which enables the fire service to access support from partner services, if required - was in place for just under five hours.
It said it still attended all life and property risk incidents and did not have to call on other fire services for help.
"We mobilised resources to 71 incidents across the county on Thursday, including many significant incidents in the afternoon," said chief fire officer Ceri Sumner.
"Conditions were difficult, with extreme heat and ongoing dry conditions contributing to rapid fire spread."
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