About 450 homes on the outskirts of Hitchin had their electricity cut out during the night due to a massive fire involving 100 tonnes of straw – and emergency crews are still on the scene tackling the blaze.
Firefighters were called to Gosmore at 12.36am this morning to a report of 100 tonnes of straw on fire, and started damping down the surrounding area using hosereels and jets.
Electrical engineers from UK Power Networks were alerted by the fire service that, due to overhead lines nearby, their electrical network could be affected so 453 homes initially had their electricity isolated for safety reasons.
At about 5.10am the wind changed, and the fire crews changed their priority to trying to stop the fire spreading to nearby trees.
A fire service spokesman told the Comet at 8.45am that crews were still at the scene.
A small number of customers remain without power, with the issue expected to be resolved by 1pm once UK Power Networks has been given the go-ahead by the fire service.
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