IT WAS described as 'tremendously devastating' and the largest incident local fire crews have had to deal with since World War two.

This month marks a decade since the Swinley Forest fires.

Hundreds of hectares of land near Crowthorne and Winkfield was affected by the great blaze, which was eventually put out by a dozen fire and rescue services from regions including Northamptonshire, Norfolk and the West Midlands.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Starting on May 2, 2011, the fire forced homes to be evacuated and roads to close as it spread quickly.

It lasted for six days, with the blaze almost completely extinguished on May 8.

READ MORE: Firefighters work through the night to tackle Swinley Forest blaze

What impact did the fire have?

The blaze affected 300 hectares of land.

More than half of this land was damaged by fire and forestry clearing operations.

READ MORE: Pictures and videos from the Swinley Forest fire

Around 51,000 trees have been replanted since the fire, which were deliberately spaced out to prevent future flames spreading quickly.

Speaking in 2011, Nick Hazlitt, from the Forestry Commission revealed the impact on local wildlife.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

He said deer should have been able to flee but some creatures may have been less lucky, including dragonflies, ground-nesting birds, adders, lizards, slow worms, frogs and toads.

Mr Hazlitt added: “It's clearly tremendously devastating. The place will recover - it's seen fires before - but in the short term, it's going to be a very different landscape and it's going to curtail some of the activities that the public enjoy and it's going to have a severe impact on some of the wildlife."

What resources were used?

Fire crews from London, Surrey, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, West Midlands, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire travelled to Bracknell Forest to help put out the blaze.

READ MORE: More of your Swinley Forest fire photos

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days. Image via Rob Gazzard.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days. Image via Rob Gazzard.

They used 18 jets, 21 hose reels, two High Volume Pumps with 6.5km water relays, seven Water Bowsers, four portable dams, an Urban Search and Rescue Module and a military fuel tanker to try and extinguish the flames.

Wildfire experts from Northumberland also supported the operation.

How did events unfold?

Using the Bracknell News archives, we can see that fire crews from Bracknell, Wokingham and Reading were the first to react to the fire on May 1, 2011.

The crews spent all night there after the first reports emerged at around 5pm.

The fire, close to the Woodlands Ride entrance to the forest, quickly spread to an area of about 20 acres, burning through the undergrowth and up pine trees as well as spreading through the peat under the ground.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Firefighter Rob Evans from Bracknell said in 2011: "The fire crowned, which means it broke through the tops of the trees, this can be very dangerous because it starts spreading very fast.”

Residents were warned to stay away from Swinley Forest and keep their windows closed as firefighters continued to tackle the blaze on May 2.

By May 3, schools and roads near Swinley Forest had been closed.

Edgbarrow School, Crowthorne Primary School and Wildmoor Heath Primary School were all shut, along with parts of Nine Mile Ride and other key routes.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days. Image via Rob Gazzard.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days. Image via Rob Gazzard.

A total of 13 homes were evacuated as a precaution and The Look Out Discovery Centre and Coral Reef Waterworld, both in Nine Mile Ride, closed.

On the same day, fire crews started to fell trees at the forest in order to create fire breaks to stop the spread of the blaze.

Residents on Brookers Row spent a second night away from home having been evacuated.

By May 4, 2011, nearby schools which had been forced to close were allowed to re-open.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

The local entertainment venues also welcomed customers back.

However, road closures were still in place near the worst-affected areas of the forest.

A Bracknell Forest Council statement issued at the time read: “People must not impede firefighters in their work and should be aware that the travel of both fire and smoke can change unexpectedly.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

"The smoke is not toxic but we are advising people in the area to stay indoors and close windows while the incident is being dealt with.”

The following day, May 5, local police chief Jon Goose revealed two teenagers had been released on bail after they were arrested on suspicion of arson.

He said: “At this stage, we continue to work closely with Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service to determine the cause of the fires and are investigating a number of lines of inquiry, including information provided from members of the public regarding the possibility the fire was deliberately set.”

Come May 6th, the fire service had to warn youngsters to stay away from the affected area after reports of children and walkers getting too close to the site.

Crowthorne Primary School’s children, however, baked cakes to say thank you to the firefighters who had spent days tackling the blaze.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Bracknell News reported on May 7th that half the fire crews fighting the flames at Swinley Forest had been stood down overnight.

Up to 350 firefighters had been at the site at one point, but by May 7 only 150 remained to tackle the fire.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Nicole Targett said: "We've made fantastic progress since yesterday, when we had to deal with several flare ups because of the hot weather.”

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Residents from Brookers Row homes were able to return to their homes on May 8.

Neil Rontree had to leave his home along with his three-year-old son Oliver and daughter Amelia, who is 19 months old. He said: "It's been quite a stressful week and Oliver was quite unsettled, so I took him with me on Thursday [May 5] when we were able to go back and pick up some belongings.”

Kelly Hutchinson had to leave his home with his two children, Linden, 5, and Oren, 3. He said: "I feel elated to be back home - I was originally staying with friends in Crowthorne but then joined my wife and children at my mother-in-law's house in Farnham when I realised it could be some time before we would be allowed back.”

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days. Image via Rob Gazzard.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days. Image via Rob Gazzard.

A Stop message, sent when the fire was largely extinguished apart from underground hotspots, was issued at 5.43pm on Sunday 8 May.

Roads around Bracknell and Crowthorne that were closed because of the Swinley Forest fire re-opened on May 9.

On May 10, firefighters handed over the forest to land management after what was described as “the service's largest incident since World War.”

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Swinley Forest fire lasted seven days.

Deputy chief fire officer Olaf Baars said: “This has been an exceptionally difficult and challenging operation.

"This is one of the largest incidents that the fire and rescue service has dealt with since World War II and I am proud of the way in which we have all responded."

What were your memories of the Swinley Forest fire? Let us know in the comments below