ARSONISTS are suspected of being behind a horrendous fire in Alice Holt Forest which took more than 90 firefighters two days to bring under control.
The blaze came close to homes in Church Lane, Rowledge, and an area of five hectares was affected, with £20,000 worth of pine trees destroyed.
Starting in undergrowth, it spread into the forest, and water carriers had to be brought from Basingstoke and Bordon.
According to the Forestry Commission, police were called to remove a woman driver from the scene at around 4 am on Saturday, who was believed to be under the influence of alcohol.
Mick Smith, of Farnham Fire and Rescue, praised the work of colleagues in preventing the fire reaching Church Lane: "It was horrendous, and was quite difficult to tackle as it was among the trees. In some places the flames were as high as 20 feet.
"It came fairly close to nearby houses and could have been quite severe, but crews did well to contain it. They were definitely heroes on the day."
He added the undergrowth was especially dry due to a lack of rain during the summer, when fires of such duration were not uncommon within the area. He did not believe the latest incident was started maliciously.
However, Alice Holt district forester, Stan Abbott, was not convinced this was the case: "Most of the fire was in a pine plantation which was put down in the 90s and has quite a close canopy of trees.
"Certainly if fire services had not been there promptly it could have been really serious."
He explained that an excavator was used to construct a mound around the outbreak which prevented it spreading.
On the issue of suspected arson, he said: "Most fires are started by people, with some from disposed of cigarettes. This could have been started by arsonists, given the time it happened."
He said wildlife was unlikely to have been affected as there are no nesting birds at this time of year, and any other animals would have bolted when the fire started.
Mr Abbot added they were "not looking forward" to school half-term when children were on holiday and said it was quite often youngsters who were responsible for such acts.
He said the Forestry Commission would now consider whether to repopulate the lost trees with native species such as oak, but is currently assessing the full extent of the damage.
The area affected has been sealed off from the public and fire services are now launching an investigation into the cause of the incident.