Firefighters tackling ongoing wildfire on Dartmoor

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the fire, which started on Sunday, was ongoing

Firefighters are battling a large wildfire on Dartmoor that started on Sunday evening.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze had spread across an area 3km (1.9 miles) by 1.4km (0.9 miles) and crews from 13 stations had been deployed to the Dartmoor Forest area near Cut Hill.

Wildlife support officers and a police helicopter were also deployed, which confirmed there were no concerns about injuries or missing people.

On Monday the fire service asked people to avoid the area and advised anyone whose property was affected by the smoke to close their windows.

More appliances have been mobilised to provide further relief on Monday morning

At about 10:45 BST, a spokesperson for the fire service asked people to avoid the Merrivale and the Okehampton range areas.

They said: "If you are heading up the moor because with the changeable weather, the fire might behave unpredictably.

"We are monitoring it and we are still attempting to extinguish it."

There are currently 10 appliances at the scene, most of which are "special fire appliances for moorland firefighting", the spokesperson said.

'Always challenging'

The service's area manager, Simon Young, said the area of the damage was about 500 hectares.

"Wildfires are always challenging because they are inaccessible for our appliances to go onto our moorland," he said.

"It makes it very difficult, but we have specialists to make sure we have capability to get onto the moor and make sure we can do the job as safely as possible.

"The wind has really played its part and we are currently under amber wildfire conditions for the next three to four days.

"We know the conditions are very dry under foot and with the wind it has just exacerbated it."

Mr Young said the fire service was still investigating the cause and would not "be leaving here until it is safe to do so".

"We will be keeping an eye on the hotspots and making sure there are no reignitions," he added.

Simon Lee said there was "significant damage" to the moorland

Head Ranger at Dartmoor National Park Simon Lee said there was "significant damage" and there was concern around wildlife and the fabric of the moor.

He said with it being a Bank Holiday weekend, they are advising people to leave this section of the moor alone, and not be tempted to "have a look".

"Let us and the emergency services do their work and not to light BBQs or fires while Dartmoor is vulnerable due to the ongoing dry weather," said Mr Lee.

The fire started at about 14:30 on Sunday and has been "burning all night", he said.

"We are hoping we can put it out in daylight today," said Mr Lee.

The majority of the firefighting appliances in use on Monday are specialist moorland firefighting vehicles

He said they were unable to get four-wheeled vehicles to access the fire, and they were using quadbikes and argocats, but even then, it was "quite a struggle".

Mr Lee said a police helicopter on Sunday evening advised people camping and visiting to "move on".

"Sometimes the wind can help if it is backburning, but fire is burning into the wind rather than with it," he said.

"Because of the locality and the amount of fuel out there, it is quite challenging."

Devon and Cornwall Police warned people travelling in the area to be aware of increased levels of smoke and the risk of reduced visability on the road.

"If you can avoid the area, please do," police said.