THE cause of the huge landfill site fire at Wareham is under investigation after finally being extinguished following three days of drama.

Nearly every fire engine from Dorset Fire & Rescue Service (DFRS) has attended the blaze at some point since it started on Sunday afternoon.

See all the pictures of the Wareham landfill fire in a gallery 

Firefighters from neighbouring counties were even drafted in to help DFRS tackle the inferno at the Trigon Landfill site, Bere Road, near Wareham.

Roughly 10,000 tonnes of waste material went up in smoke and people as far away as the Isle of Wight and Southsea reported smelling smoke.

Public health officials also warned people to avoid areas affected by the thick black smoke. However, no one was injured in the fire.

Viridor, the company that owns the site, says it is now managing the cooling phase, which includes digging through burnt waste to remove any hotspots. The area also continues to be saturated with water.

Dan Cooke, director of external affairs for Viridor, said: “The Environment Agency and Viridor’s engineering and compliance teams are on site, and they’ll be looking for information as to how the fire may have started and working towards ensuring that the site is safe and compliant to reopen.”

During the cooling phase the area will remain on 24-hour watch and managed by James Rosewell, Trigon site manager. Mr Rosewell will be supported by Viridor’s technical and environmental manager, Tim Bigelow, who has a 21-year career in firefighting and worked alongside DFRS to suppress the blaze.