FIRE crews battling a large wildfire near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station said the blaze had stabilised today, though the risk of fresh outbreaks remains high.

The fire near Sizewell B on the Suffolk coast has devastated an area equivalent to around 210 football pitches and forced locals and holidaymakers to flee.

It comes just two weeks after Suffolk’s Reform-led council was slammed by local FBU rep Richard Beeby for rescinding the county’s climate crisis declaration – reported in the Star.

Speaking at a protest outside the county council offices, he had warned that the service had “too few firefighters to deal with the increasing pressure.”

Deputy chief fire officer Henry Griffin said an investigation had been launched into how the fire started at RSPB Minsmere before spreading to nearby heathland.

More than 100 firefighters have tackled the blaze at Dunwich Heath since Wednesday, supported by a helicopter dropping thousands of litres of seawater.

The fire is a few miles from Sizewell B and the Sizewell C construction site, though authorities stressed there was no concern about it spreading towards the power station.

Mr Griffin said: “We have a couple of fire fronts we are actively monitoring, checking on their wind speed, checking on that wind direction, to make sure any reignition is controlled and monitored throughout the coming hours.

“Due to the scale and unpredictable nature of the wind direction I wouldn’t say it is under control, it’s certainly stabilised.”

Around 50 people have been evacuated from their homes, with Cliff House Holiday Park’s 200 caravans also evacuated as a precaution.

The affected area had grown to 150 hectares by Thursday, with 18 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters at the scene. Suffolk has received just 2 per cent of its average July rainfall so far, according to the Met Office.

Firefighters were also tackling a separate blaze at Middlewick Ranges nature reserve near Colchester yesterday, with Essex Fire Service urging people to avoid the area.