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Firefighters tackling ongoing wildfire on Dartmoor

Zhara Simpson
BBC News, South West
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service An ariel shot taken from a helicopter of the moorland fire. A large section at the centre of the moor is black, with an orange ring around the outside. There is smoke bellowing from the burnt area.Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said the fire, which started on Sunday, was "ongoing"

Firefighters are still 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 on Sunday 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 any properties affected by the smoke should close their windows.

An area of Dartmoor which has been burnt. There are black areas of the green/yellow land to the left of the image. There are vehicles parked on the right. There are clouds in the sky.
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.

The fire service said the cause was currently "unknown".

A red and yellow fire vehicle at the centre of the image with a long trailer. In the distance is green/yellow land, and to the left in the distance is a burnt area.
The majority of the firefighting appliances in use on Monday are specialist moorland firefighting vehicles

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