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Smoke from Army's Salisbury Plain fire seen 40 miles away Army pauses Salisbury Plain live firing exercises after fire
(about 5 hours later)
Large clouds of smoke caused by Army exercises on Salisbury Plain have been seen 40 miles away in Somerset. The Army has paused live firing exercises on Salisbury Plain until further notice, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
The training exercises, which use high-explosives ammunition, were paused on Friday but resumed earlier this week. A fire sparked by the exercises has created a smoke plume which can be seen 40 miles away in Somerset.
Wiltshire Police temporarily closed the A360 between Shrewton and West Lavington. The smoke has spread to over 40 miles away in Wells, Somerset. The military training, using high-explosive ammunition, has now been temporarily stopped, the MoD said.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said the military was monitoring the smoke plume caused by the fire. Earlier on Thursday police temporarily closed a stretch of the A360 due to poor visibility.
It tweeted: "A fire in the impact area of Salisbury Plain that is being monitored by the Military seems to be giving off a smoke plume that is spreading across Steeple Ashton, Trowbridge and as far as Bradford on Avon. Control are receiving multiple calls." A large number of calls have been made to the three fire services which cover Wiltshire, Somerset and Bath.
Avon Fire and Rescue said it had received a large number of calls from Bath about the smoke. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said the smoke plume had spread as far as Frome, Shepton Mallet and Wells - which is over 40 miles from the training area.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said the smoke plume had spread as far as Frome, Shepton Mallet and Wells. The MoD spokesman said: "We have reviewed the risks of continuing live firing on Salisbury Plain training area and have made the decision to cease artillery live firing until further notice.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed there was "a fire in the impact area on Salisbury Plain" and it was monitoring the situation. "We will continue to monitor the situation and share updates."
As Salisbury Plain is owned by the Army, the fire service can only put out fires which spread to the edge of the training zones.