Volunteers devastated as blaze at Dane Valley Woods damages 25% of site

Fire damage Photo Dane Valley Woods group

A fire at Dane Valley Woods today (August 31) has damaged around a quarter of the site.

The undergrowth blaze was reported to Kent Fire & Rescue Service at 3.35pm. Six fire engines and an all-terrain vehicle attended.

The fire started near the allotments and forest school and spread as it was fanned by the wind.

Crew at the scene Photo Adrian Handley

A spokesperson for the Dane Valley Woods group said: “We are sorry to report that there was a very large fire at the woods this afternoon, attended by six fire appliances in total.

“From ground based assessment we estimate that approximately 25% of the site was affected. It started on the north-western side near the allotments and forest school, spread quickly southwards fanned by the wind, and even jumped across the cycle path and nearly reached the railway line.

Photo Frank Leppard

“We are very grateful to Kent Fire and Rescue Service for their hard work in preventing the fire spreading any further.

“Sadly the area where we planted our Curve Coffee Roasters sponsored trees was badly affected and we do not know at this stage how many will survive.

Photo Dane Valley Woods group

“In our discussions with the fire officers the cause remains unknown. Fortunately no one was hurt, although the damage to wildlife and their habitat is severe.

Photo Frank Leppard

“For a community group that is run entirely by volunteers, clearly this is a devastating blow. We will be taking time to assess and come to terms with the situation over the course of the next few weeks.”

Photo Frank Leppard

The Dane Valley Woods group is a volunteer-led project in Margate, growing and maintaining the 13 acre woodland on a former landfill site, for the enjoyment of the residents.

Visit the group’s facebook page or check out the website at www.danevalleywoods.org

15 Comments

  1. The extent and severity of the fire was exacerbated by the tinder dry conditions we’ve experienced for the past few months.
    And that is most certainly a consequence of Climate Change.
    We have to change our lifestyles, or expect much more of the same.

  2. Let’s all go back to the medieval time no cars ,no planes no phones no computers ,no fridges freezers ,brilliant

    • Fine.
      But we must live with the consequences.
      You might have noticed the record breaking summer temperatures we’ve had in the UK.
      You might be aware of the devastating and lethal floods in Australia and Pakistan.
      But that’s ok, as long as you can drive to the corner shop for a pint of milk.

  3. Just heard they think it was started by a moron setting fire to a motocycle,and that’s from someone who lives that way

    • If we went to your ark days people still set fire to things even then. Therw is no real answer..
      Not sure about speculation until I see proof

  4. There is a whole range of possibilities when it comes to changing our lifestyles.”Ray the bread”, however, jumps to an extreme conclusion without mentioning any less drastic alleviating measures.

  5. All these greens spouting global warming g caused by this that and the other (?), really instead of crying out for banning of combustible engines they should be lobbying for more forestation of the land , botanically trees produce oxygen by taking the dirty atmosphere and producing good clean air , there is also the other answer to global warming EVOLUTION the world is naturaly warming and in time it will explode? or maybe not ,however whatever the greens want to do will not prevent the world from doing what it wants YOU CANNOT BEAT MOTHER NATURE ,but you can increase its chances by just growing trees ,it’s not rocket science, the world will be a better place for forestation ,look at Canada people live in the forest to a ripe old ages because of the forest cleaning the air .

    • Climate Change and Global Warming is not caused by “this, that, or the other”.
      It is caused by profligate burning of fossil hydrocarbon fuels by humans.
      Of that, there is absolutely no doubt by the world’s climate scientists, and by almost all the world’s governments.
      Indeed, global warming will decrease the need for winter heating. Instead, there will be a huge demand for air conditioning (which is very inefficient and uses vast amounts of energy)
      “On average there were 1,224 deaths a day during July’s three “heat periods”, as labelled by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which was 7% higher than the daily average across the rest of the month”
      So, excess heat leads to death.
      We have to do something (mostly stop burning fossil fuels) or we can expect more frequent extremes of weather – deluges, gales, heat and snow. And more deaths.

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