Police told drivers to leave their cars ‘if you want to stay alive’ as a van fire sparked a heathland wildfire by a dual carriageway in the New Forest yesterday.
Traffic came to a halt and drivers were ordered to the side of the road after flames from the van ignited ‘tinderbox bracken’ by the westbound A31 in Hampshire.
A policewoman told motorists in the area near Ringwood to get out of their cars and move to the central reservation next to the road ‘if you want to stay alive’.
A firefighter was later overheard telling a police officer: ‘We want all the cars and people off the carriageway. Unattended cars are basically bombs when they go off.’
The van driver is thought to have escaped. A fire officer said: ‘We believe it was a van that caught fire on the road and that set alight to the shrubs at the side of the road.’
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed today that crews will be at the scene for the ‘foreseeable future’, with more than 20 fire engines tackling the blaze.
The fire service received more than 160 emergency calls reporting a vehicle on fire on the A31 at about 5.24pm yesterday.
Some 26 fire engines, four water carriers, six off-road vehicles and several command vehicles were at the site.
Drivers were ordered to leave their cars ‘if you want to stay alive’ on the A31 in Hampshire
A policewoman was filmed directing drivers to the central reservation after a van fire spread to the vegetation by the westbound carriageway near the New Forest
A fire officer said the fire was out of control
The fire service said the fire spread from the vehicle to the central reservation before progressing into nearby heathland.
A spokesman said: ‘Firefighters continue to tackle the fire affecting heathland near the A31 and will remain on site for the foreseeable future. We continue to have a significant presence in the area as crews work to bring the fire under control.’
The fire service warned people living nearby that it may need to lay hoses across their property as it draws water from a nearby lake.
‘Fires in the countryside can be particularly challenging for firefighters, especially when it comes to getting sufficient water to the incident,’ it said.
It added: ‘At present, there is no need for any properties to be evacuated. Should this situation change, affected households will be contacted directly.’
Motorists have been urged to avoid the area and use alternative routes whenever possible.
A local resident said the fire was understood to have started in a lorry close to Picket Post services on the A31.
Sue Bassett, a worker at a Shell garage at the services, said the road and petrol station had been shut but the fire had moved away from the carriageway.
She said: ‘The smoke is visible from here, you can see smoke from miles around, it’s still going strong in the forest but not leaping on to the road.
‘There are lots of firefighters, they are pumping water up from the lakes, they are having to run out pipes over the carriageway so they can’t open up the road.’
She added: ‘It’s almost scary with the rivers running low on water, it’s a challenge.’
Hundreds of drivers remained stuck by the spreading fire while crews worked out how to evacuate them from the area.
Motorists told how flames spread across both sides of the dual carriageway about a mile from the Canadian War Memorial just north-east of Shobley.
One driver said: ‘It happened so fast. Some drivers just went straight through the flames. Others did emergency stops, turned around and tried to get back along the carriageway. It was sheer panic.’
Libbi Aldred, 36, said she had been driving on the dual carriageway when around 10 cars in front of her began slowing down and putting their hazards on.
Smoke billowed from the trees next to the road as motorists abandoned their cars
Hundreds of drivers lined the dual carriageway as police worked out how to evacuate them
The fire spread across the ‘tinderbox bracken’ next to the road after a 30C day in Hampshire
She said there was a fire ‘in the middle’ of the road and there was ‘smoke’ and ‘billowing’ flames.
Ms Aldred, a dog trainer from Hightown, Hampshire, said another driver – a grandfather who had his grandchildren with him – saw two cars in front of him go through the blaze but that ‘the flames were hitting’ their cars.
He and other drivers turned around and began to head for the previous exit but Ms Aldred said police told them to stay in their cars.
‘We didn’t take that advice,’ she said, because ‘the flames started coming towards us’.
As the fire spread, police arrived and ordered drivers out of their cars before fire engines were filmed racing towards the blaze.
Ms Aldred said the fire spread quickly and the wind carried it into the vegetation next to the road.
Temperatures in Hampshire rose above 30C as motorists gathered in the shade next to the road.
Some were filmed kicking a football on the road as the police were unable to say when they would be able to leave.
Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident yesterday as two large fires in woodland put a strain on resources.
Several wildfires have broken out in the UK over recent weeks, including large blazes at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, Headon Warren on the Isle of Wight, Llanwonno in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, and the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.
According to the Fire Severity Index, any wildfires were likely to be exceptionally severe yesterday in almost all of the east and south-east of England. ‘Exceptional’ severity is the highest ranking.
The Met Office data includes rainfall, temperature and humidity, and agencies use the index to assess the severity of fire if it starts. It does not cover the chances of wildfires occurring.
Heatwave conditions will likely return later this week, with a high of 36C expected in parts of East Anglia and south-east England by Thursday, according to the Met Office.
So far the extreme weather of summer 2026 has included two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June that led to more than 2,800 excess deaths.
Two more heatwaves in July, the driest July in England and Wales since records began in 1836, have fuelled drought and wildfires. A fifth heatwave was confirmed last week.
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