An outdoor fire has been extinguished next to the M25 between Potters Bar and Epping.
Crews from Hertfordshire, Essex and London attended a blaze at Waltham Abbey on the Essex and Hertfordshire border amid 29C heat in the London region today (Tuesday, August 9).
The blaze broke out in a field between M25 junction 25 (A10, Enfield) and junction 26 (A121, Waltham Abbey) at around 4.25pm.
According to Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, 10 fire crews from London and two crews from Hertfordshire were called to the scene.
The Essex control room sent two of its own crews from Harlow and one crew each from Loughton, Brentwood and Epping to fight the blaze.
Dave Bond, a fire station manager from Essex, said: "This was a great partnership effort between colleagues in Essex, London and Hertfordshire.
"Crews worked quickly to contain this fire and prevent it spreading further."
National Highways confirmed at 4.58pm that two lanes were closed on the M25 anti-clockwise (westbound) due to the incident.
The Traffic England travel map showed delays on the M25 London Orbital between the A111 at Potters Bar and the M11 at Epping.
All lane closures have since ended.
The fire broke out during a spell of dry weather throughout the East of England.
Last month (July 2022) was the driest July since 1935, according to the Met Office, when England received just 35 per cent of its average July rainfall.
Weather observers said temperatures hit 29C at 6pm near London Heathrow Airport today (August 9), with highs of 28C near Bedford and 27C at Andrewsfield, near Braintree in Essex.
A Met Office amber weather warning is in place for "extreme heat" in Essex and Hertfordshire - due to begin on Thursday, August 11 and end on Sunday, August 14 with temperatures as high as 32C in the region.
In Hertfordshire, farmers and rural communities are preparing for field fires by installing new pipe connectors in remote fields.
The partnership, between Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and the National Farmers Union (NFU), aims to reduce the time it takes for firefighters to find a steady supply of water during outdoor blazes.
The project to install the connectors began after Hertfordshire fire crews declared a "major incident" on Tuesday, July 19, which has since ended, due to several significant fires in the county.
In Essex, the emergency services launched fresh calls for residents to avoid lighting barbecues and fires.
Fire crews extinguished a garden blaze which was caused by fireworks in Broomfield, near Chelmsford, on Thursday, August 4.
On Saturday, August 6, a total 15 homes were evacuated in Greenwood Close, Chelmsford when a garden fire spread out of control and into nearby conifer trees.
Paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service provided first aid to seven people at the scene.
Several gardens were destroyed as a result.
Neil Fenwick, fire service area manager, said: "While summer weather usually provides the perfect opportunity to host a barbecue or gather around a chimenea in the evening, we’re strongly discouraging people from having any kinds of fires at the moment.
"The ground across Essex is extremely dry allowing fires to spread easily and quickly. This is true for gardens as well as fields and heathland.
"Please help us to help you.
"Please don’t have barbecues or bonfires.
"Please don’t use fireworks or set off sky lanterns.
"Doing so could cause a large scale fire."
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