Huge smoke plume floods homes in Wiltshire as Salisbury Plain fires reignite

A view of the smoke plume from Devizes at 9pm on Saturday (17 July)

A huge smoke plume has flooded homes after the fires on Salisbury Plain reignited.

At least two wildfires were burning in the impact area yesterday (Saturday, 16 July), preventing fire service intervention due to the risk of unexploded ordnance.

This morning, (Sunday, 17 July), the flames continue spreading across the site.

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A significant amount of smoke has travelled across the county, mainly eastbound, to mostly affect residents living in the Netheravon, Durrington and Amesbury areas.

Other areas, like Melksham, have also been affected by the smoke plume – with residents there reporting waking to heavy smoke at around 4am.

To date, more than 2,000 acres of land have been left charred by fire, which is now expected to rage on over the coming days.

In their most recent statement provided last night, the military said: “It looks as though the fire is set for tonight. At some stage the smoke will fall into the low ground.

“We have added a map showing likely areas that may be affected and at what time. This is taken from the Met Office, so please don’t hold us to account if it’s wrong.

“With any luck we will reach dew point tonight and it will put itself out. It will be monitored throughout the night to ensure it doesn’t break out of the boundary of the range.”

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