Heath fires on the rise as UK drought worsens The heathland must have been bone dry because the flames spread about 800 yards in next to no time. The flames were about 20 or 30 feet high and they were quite close to the car park. It was very dramatic. A team of about 20 firefighters brought the blaze under control within an hour and spent further time damping the heath down following the emergency on Friday night. Then yesterday afternoon (Sat), a discarded cigarette end is thought to have started an even bigger heath fire that threatened homes in Bournemouth. Dorset Fire and Rescue received more than 50 calls from members of the public to the inferno close to Isaac Close that backs onto Talbot Heath. About 40 firefighters fought the blaze and worked to make sure the flames did not reach the nearby properties. A 12 acre area was destroyed by the fire blaze that took two hours to put out. Resident Alison Harris said: "We were just having our lunch in the garden when we noticed the flames start near the corner of the electricity pilon not far from our house. We called the fire service immediately and it was lucky we could call them so quickly or goodness knows how much closer it would have come. We are just glad that they got here so fast and bought it under control so quickly or it would have reached the houses. Richard Coleman, incident commander for Dorset Fire and Rescue, said: "The dry conditions means that any spark from a cigarette or BBQ could have caused this. It is a very timely reminder to warn people of the real dangers of any naked flame or spark near tinder dry forest or scrub.