Firefighters have put out a blaze at the Warner Bros. studio near London, where all eight Harry Potter movies were filmed, after tackling the fire for over twelve hours.
The incident began late on Wednesday evening, with nearby residents seeing smoke rising from the lot. Crews rushed to the site overnight and continued to battle the fire into Thursday afternoon, before it was finally extinguished after 2 p.m. local time.
“Hertfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service were called to reports of a fire at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden in Hertfordshire at 11.29 p.m. on Wednesday , July 10,” the council said in a statement.
“Eighteen fire engines and support vehicles are currently at the scene as crews continue to tackle the fire. Three jets and one aerial ladder platform are in use,” they said, adding that the set was not being used at the time and there are no injuries.
UPDATE: 18 crews are now tackling the blaze https://t.co/6qKDsKgZCJ
— HeraldScotland (@heraldscotland) July 11, 2019
Crews closed roads around the site and ran a hose from a nearby canal to fight the blaze.
The studio, which occupies a sprawling complex in Leavesden, offers popular tours of the sets and sound stages used in the Harry Potter films. The tours are still running on Thursday, according to the studio’s website.
Movies including “The Dark Knight” and installments of the Spider-Man and Bourne franchises have also been produced at the base.
Currently a fire at Leavesden Studios, heard numerous fire engines #leavesdenstudios #harrypotter #fire @BBCNews @SkyNews pic.twitter.com/WUexFF5ISJ
— Mark Hancock (@The_M_Hancock) July 11, 2019
Mark Hancock, who lives near the studios, told CNN: “We first heard it about 12:15 or so this morning when a number of fire engines went past my house. Then more arrived over the next half an hour or so.”
“There was quite a strong smell of smoke in the air as well. As I watched the smoke appeared to get thicker, so much so that we could see the flashing lights of the fire engines reflecting off the thick smoke,” he added.
“It was still going strong at about 1 a.m. When I woke up this morning it was still smoldering and when I left for work this morning, there was still a strong smell and taste of smoke in the air.”
Over 75 firefighters are currently tackling the blaze. https://t.co/WpM61QqZsU
— Metro (@MetroUK) July 11, 2019
