Fourteen fire engines tackled a grass fire near Lea Road in Waltham Abbey.
At the height of the fire, around 14 hectares of grassland and shrubland was alight across four separate locations. Due to heavy smoke travel onto the train tracks, firefighters evacuated around 100 passengers from trains at Waltham Cross and Enfield Lock stations. There are no reports of any injuries.
Traffic on the M25 was affected by the fire due to smoke travel in the area, while train services from Waltham Cross were suspended.
Crews used water backpacks and wildfire beaters to tackle the fire. Wildfire beaters are made of a long handle with a flat piece of rubber at the end, they're used to beat the flames, depriving them of oxygen and cooling down the area.
One of the Brigade's Terrain Support Vehicles was also sent to the scene to support firefighting efforts. The vehicle provides off-road capability enabling the transportation of additional equipment closer to fires on open ground. Each vehicle carries approximately 475 litres of water, a backpack blower, ear defenders, beaters and misting lance technology, which allows firefighters to pump water and drive, enabling them to tackle grass fires more quickly and safely.
The Brigade's Drone Team also attended the scene, providing the Incident Commander with an aerial view of the fire.
Control Officers took the first of 50 calls at 1357 and mobilised crews from Enfield, Chingford, Woodford and surrounding fire stations to the scene. The fire was under control by 1654.