More than 80 cars destroyed in Boomtown fire

Image credit: @Rushmoor02/Twitter

On Friday afternoon (12 August) a fire broke out at Boomtown Fair festival, injuring none but destroying more than 80 vehicles.

The blaze is thought to have been caused by a discarded lit cigarette, which set grass on fire in the festival car park.

At its height, six fire crews were required to tackle the blaze and prevent it from spreading to the nearby campsite.

The incident info tent at West Car Park is open until 10pm and midday-10pm SUN. Please head there if you think your car has been affected. x

— BoomTown Fair (@BoomTownFair) 13 August 2016

The officer in command, Winchester watch manager Mark Compton, spoke to the Daily Echo, saying: “80 cars were totally destroyed. Well over 100 vehicles were damaged or destroyed by the fire. The heat was very, very intense. We were literally just trying to prevent the fire from breaking out.”

Compton added that the flames were “a matter of metres” from the festival’s glamping site.
The four-day festival welcomed more than 50,000 people to its site in Hampshire, with headliners Leftfield, Damian Marley, Madness and the Levellers.