CREWS from Okehampton and Hatherleigh were among around 100 firefighters who tackled a major blaze on a remote part of north Dartmoor on Sunday.

The fire service were alerted by numerous 999 calls at around 11am.

Plumes of smoke were visible for miles around in the area deep in the moor near Watern Tor.

It took crews on foot an hour to reach the blaze, approaching from three directions. They fought the fire for more than six hours to bring it under control. At its height, the fire stretched for a distance of three kilometres in one direction and two kilometres in another, with the wind fanning the flames.

Because access was so difficult, the firefighters could not bring any water appliances within easy reach and even attempts to reach the scene in 4x4s had to be abandoned.

Instead, firefighters fought the flames with what they’d been able to carry – beaters and water backpacks – and by creating fire breaks.

The blaze was at its height in the middle of the afternoon.

They finally stood down at 6.30pm, with a crew from Chagford, the nearest to the blaze, making a final check later in the evening.

Officer in charge Kevin Drew, from Hatherleigh Fire Station, said: ‘It was one of the largest fires I’ve ever seen on Dartmoor. It was really deep in the moor. Crews were walking for about an hour before they reached the fire, so they were really difficult conditions for them – and they worked really hard.

‘There were five of us from Hatherleigh, six from Okehampton and crews from all over Devon. We had a full-time crew from Exeter, one from Plymstock and on-call crews from pretty much everywhere else. We had a lot of assistance too from North Dartmoor Search and Rescue and Dartmoor Commoners’ Council, and the police sent the helicopter, so I was able to go up in that and get a view from above.’

The crews approached from three directions, Hangingstone Hill, Scorhill and Teignhead Farm.

North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team provided local knowledge and 4x4s to help crews reach the scene.

Because of the rough terrain, the crews had to make the final part of the journey on foot.

‘We were tackling it from three different sides, because of the size of the fire and with the access being so difficult,’ said Mr Drew.

‘The wind didn’t help – it was spreading the fire quite rapidly. Actually reaching the fire was our biggest problem.’

As well as beaters, they used half a dozen ‘fogging units’, directing high velocity water spray from backpacks.

‘It was very dry up there which was quite surprising with the amount of rain we’ve had recently.

‘Even in the marshy areas, the grass itself was very dry and the fire spread across the top.’

A total of 18 appliances attended the callout, with crews from Hatherleigh, North Tawton, Chagford, Tavistock, Holsworthy, Witheridge and Yelverton among them.

They split up into three sections to tackle the fire.

Devon Fire and Rescue Service said the cause is still being investigated, but it is not thought to be suspicious.

Pictures courtesy of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.