Fire crews stand down after 470 acres of rare heath destroyed at Thursley Thursday, 4 June 2020 - Emergency Services by Daniel Gee - Head of Content@danielgeeheralddaniel.gee@farnhamherald.com Almost half of the 1,100-acre Thursley Common, including much of the Thursley National Nature Reserve, has been destroyed (Photo: Lucy Brooks) Printed and digital download photos available Many sites are currently extremely dry, meaning wildfires such as this incident can easily occur and spread THE CAUSE of the blaze that ripped through more than 470 acres of rare, protected heathland at Thursley Common this week – depriving endangered species such as the Dartford Warbler their habitat, and threatening homes in Thursley and Elstead – is still unknown. But the message from the countless villagers, farmers, police and fire crews who spent all hours tackling the wildfire and helping those affected by the blaze since Saturday afternoon is clear and universal: take your barbecues, camp fires and cigarette butts as far away from our bone-dry heathland as possible. Sadly, it’s a message that still doesn’t seem to be getting through, with a group of teens spotted using a disposable barbecue to light a fire at nearby Hankley Common on Tuesday, threatening a second blaze in quick succession. Fire crews have, as of Friday, now left the site – their dampening of the charred heath aided by a short shower of rain on Thursday. But at the height of the blaze over the weekend around 40 firefighters, working on a rotational basis, were tasked with bringing the Thursley fire under control – with the help of four Unimog fire appliances, four Land Rover wildfire units, one high-volume pump, water carriers and command support personnel. This tells only half the story, however, as a huge community effort also mobilised on Saturday, with local farmers joining the fire-fighting efforts (see this week’s print edition) and Thursley and Elstead parish councils quickly establishing rest centres in anticipation of mass evacuations. In the end, these were thankfully not required – nor was Waverley Borough Council’s fall-back rest centre in Godalming – as the blaze was brought under control before reaching homes. Surrey assistant chief fire officer Kasey Beal said: “Our firefighters have done a tremendous job in limiting the fire spread to the commons area, and in preventing the fire from further threatening Thursley village. While the cause of the fire is not yet known, we urge everyone to refrain from using disposable barbecues, having camp fires, and to ensure smoking materials are fully extinguished while enjoying the outdoors.” Pat Murphy, chairman of Elstead Parish Council, added the common was home to numerous rare and protected species of birds, reptiles, plants and insects, and it would take “many years” to get back to its past splendour. “The reserve has been a wonderful place to escape to during the period of enforced lockdown and it is heartbreaking to see the huge areas of devastation,” he said. Mr Murphy gave thanks to the emergency crews who “worked tirelessly in extremely challenging circumstances”. He added: “Special appreciation…