Mincinglake Valley Park fire: 50 acres burnt, stay away plea

About 50 acres of Mincinglake Valley Park, the wooded valley and hilltop meadows between Stoke Hill and Whipton, burned on the afternoon of Tuesday 11 August in a fire that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident. Devon Wildlife Trust, which manages the park for Exeter City Council, describes the damage as “extensive” and is asking people to keep away from the site for the time being while its reserves team works out what the wildlife needs to recover. (Devon Wildlife Trust, Wildfire at Mincinglake Valley Park, 12 August 2026)

It was the second Exeter valley park to burn in five days. On Friday 7 August a grass fire in Exwick, first reported to the fire service at 4.03pm and spreading towards houses, burned about 3 acres of Barley Valley Park before eight crews stopped it. That site has since reopened. Mincinglake has not. (Devon Wildlife Trust, Wildfire at Barley Valley Park, 10 August 2026; DSFRS incident log, Exwick, 7 August 2026)

What happened on Tuesday

The fire service’s own incident log records the first calls at 2.46pm on 11 August, reporting a grass fire “with multiple seats” in the park. By the time the log was updated the service had 20 appliances, a water bowser and other specialist equipment at the scene, had split the fire into sectors, and was telling residents nearby to keep windows and doors closed and to avoid the area. An update timed 8.10 the next morning says the incident had been scaled back, with crews still on site monitoring and damping down hot spots. The log lists 23 attending stations, from Danes Castle and Middlemoor in the city out to Okehampton, Tavistock, Buckfastleigh, Sidmouth, Tiverton and, over the county line, Taunton, Nether Stowey and Street. (Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, incident log, Outdoor fire, Mincinglake and Whipton, 11 August 2026)

The Trust says the fire started at around 2.47pm and thanks the people who reported it, the emergency services and its own staff who stayed on site to help. Its early assessment is that around 50 acres of habitat were affected and that fencing and other infrastructure are likely to have been damaged. No livestock was on the site and no housing was damaged. On the morning of 12 August crews were still there dealing with hot spots. (Devon Wildlife Trust, 12 August 2026)

Fifty acres is a large share of the park. The Trust’s own reserve page gives Mincinglake’s size as 19 hectares, which is about 47 acres, so the estimate covers most, if not all, of the ground. The same page describes what was there: a circular path through woodland beside a stream and an orchard, and above it Stoke Hill’s wildflower meadows and tree-studded parkland with views across the city to the Exe estuary. Part of the valley was a council waste tip until it was capped in the 1970s. The park’s main entrance is off Stoke Hill and Calthorpe Road, EX4 7DR, and it currently carries a notice asking people to avoid the area and follow the emergency services’ advice. (Devon Wildlife Trust, Mincinglake Valley Park reserve page)

What was lost

The Trust lists the park’s wildlife as a range of common and less common plants, songbirds, field voles, butterflies and moths, and its Land Manager Matt Boydell, who has been on site, described the damage as “extensive”. Over the coming days and weeks the reserves team will assess the impact and identify how to support the recovery. At Barley Valley the losses were spelt out in more detail: fields of wildflowers, common lizards, slow worms, ants, small mammals, butterflies and birds, on grassland, scrub and woodland; grazing cattle there were unharmed and repairs are already under way. (Devon Wildlife Trust, Mincinglake; Barley Valley)

Exeter City Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Ruth Williams, who is a ward councillor for Mincinglake and Whipton, thanked the firefighters and said she was “heartened by offers of support from the local community”, adding: “During this unprecedented heatwave and drought, I would urge everyone to be vigilant, take extra care and report any signs of fire immediately.” Cllr Duncan Wood, Lead Councillor for Leisure Services, Wellbeing and Public Realm, said he was “devastated to see the scale of the damage” and encouraged residents to give the area the space it needs and to use the city’s other valley parks in the meantime. (Exeter City Council, Firefighters praised after large wildfire damages Mincinglake Valley Park, 14 August 2026)

Why the risk is so high

South West Water’s hosepipe ban for all its customers in Devon, Cornwall, parts of Dorset and Somerset and the Isles of Scilly took effect at one minute past midnight on Saturday 8 August, the morning after the Barley Valley fire. The company cites a prolonged hot, dry spell with rainfall well below seasonal averages over many months, the Environment Agency’s declaration that half of England including the South West is in drought, and the Met Office’s provisional finding that July was the driest on record for England and Wales, with southern England recording its driest month in a series going back to 1836. (South West Water, hosepipe ban)

Mincinglake was not the only outdoor fire the county’s crews were dealing with that afternoon. An hour and a quarter before the first Mincinglake call, at 1.31pm, Middlemoor’s crew was sent to Cranbrook, where about 50 metres of conifer fence line and a patch of standing crops were alight, with Danes Castle and Ottery St Mary sent in support. (DSFRS incident log, Rockbeare, 11 August 2026)

What it means for you

Stay out of Mincinglake for now. Both the Trust and the council are asking people to keep away while the damage is assessed and any dangerous trees, fencing and paths are dealt with. There is no reopening date yet. The other valley parks the Trust manages for the council, including Barley Valley in Exwick, are open. (Devon Wildlife Trust; Exeter City Council)

How to help. The Trust has opened a wildfire donation route on its website and says every gift goes to caring for and restoring habitats. It has also set out four things it asks of everyone while the ground is this dry: barbecue at home rather than in the countryside; never light campfires or other open fires; take all litter home, especially cigarette ends and glass bottles; and if you see a wildfire, call 999 straight away and give the exact location. (Devon Wildlife Trust)

Expect this to run. The Trust says the wildfire risk “is still very high”, the hosepipe ban has no end date, and two of the city’s six Trust-managed valley parks have now burned in a week. If you live beside any of them, the fire service’s advice from Tuesday stands for any repeat: keep windows and doors closed, and keep the roads clear for appliances. (DSFRS incident log)

We will report the Trust’s assessment of the damage and any reopening date when it publishes them. If you spot roadworks or closures affecting access around Stoke Hill in the meantime, our Exeter roadworks and travel page is updated regularly.