Surrey fire seen from central London sees women’s golf final halted after massive blaze rips across 100 acres
A HUGE wildfire has ripped through Chobham Common in Surrey before spreading to Wentworth golf course where it halted a golf final.
Smoke from the inferno could be seen as far away as central London, as firefighters struggle to fight the raging blaze.
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service said it sent 10 fire engines, two water carriers and 10 other vehicles to tackle the blaze.
Griff Ryan, 23, lives in Sunningdale near to the blaze, and said the fire began with a “strange light” at around 1pm before smoke and then later a “wall of flames”.
He said: “Smoke got gradually worse and ash began falling into our garden.
“Now standing on Chobham road. At around 5pm fire still wasn’t visible from the road.
“Over about half an hour it’s become visible and now can see a wall of flames down towards the railway line.
“Other residents I’ve spoken to have said it’s the worst they’ve seen in 30 years.”
As flames spread across the West Course at the prestigious Surrey club, play was stopped during the conclusion of the Rose Ladies’ Series Grand Final.
We could see it moving in the distance and it seemed to get closer pretty quickly
Golfer Felicity Johnson
It is understood the golf has been suspended for the rest of the day with plans to continue the final round at 9.30am tomorrow morning.
According to Sky Sports News, no one has been injured on the golf club but everyone was asked to leave the West Course, one of three courses at the club.
Dramatic photos captured the smoke at the course near Virginia Water where temperatures hit 36C on Friday afternoon.
Sunningdale Golf Course, just three miles away, also stopped play and ensured everyone was in a safe space in case.
Felicity Johnson was on the ninth hole when she spotted players on the tenth tee box waving dramatically, at first thinking they were calling for a referee.
She told Sky Sports News: “I was just on ninth green, the group ahead had teed up and then we could see a lot of smoke.
“We could see it moving in the distance and it seemed to get closer pretty quickly.
“We waited five to ten minutes and it was the noise that was pretty scary.
“We all know how fast fire can travel and then we saw ash landing on our clothes.
“We all had to wait at a safe distance, a few green keepers and club staff were there quickly.
“I saw the sprinklers go up pretty quickly – any water supply is good.
“I’ve been on the European Tour since 2006 and played in Australia with the bush fires around us which was bad but I have never seen anything like this just turning up on the day.”
Most read in News
A spokesman for the fire service said: “We received a call this afternoon around 12.25pm to a report of a fire on Chobham Common.
“Ten fire engines have been sent in total, alongside multiple specialist vehicles, with the first arriving at the scene around 12.35pm. Approximately 41 hectares of grass and undergrowth are alight.
“Crews remain at the scene tackling the fire.”
Smoke from the fire was visible well over ten miles away and had earlier been mistakenly thought to be coming from Heathrow airport by some on social media.