Over 200 firefigthers continue to battle Chobham Common blaze

Surrey Fire and Rescue was called just after midday on Friday to a fire on Chobham Common. An estimated 140 acres of heath and scrubland has been affected by the fire.

At it’s peak more than 40 vehicles including fire engines, specialist units and 4x4s were at the scene and the fire service along with numerous partners continues to have a significant presence at the scene dealing with incident.

We’re expecting fire crews to remain on scene through the next couple of days to continue to tackle the fire and then to damp down the area.

Following discussions between partners a number of properties have had to be evacuated due to safety reasons and at this time it is not safe for those residents to return to their homes. A number of local roads remain closed and we’re also asking people to avoid the area.

Although it’s too early to say exactly what the cause of this fire was the extreme temperatures across the county have no doubt had an impact. We’re asking residents to avoid starting unnecessary fires including lighting bonfires, or using disposable BBQs in our countryside to prevent any more fires of this nature breaking out.

Surrey Police have been supporting the multiagency major incident response with officers, Special Constables and staff, who have been maintaining road closures and managing the evacuations of residents and members of the public in the area.

We thank the public for their continued support of the emergency services and for helping those who have been evacuated.