The wooded area that served as inspiration for Winnie the Pooh’s home, the Hundred Acre Wood, has been damaged by a forest fire, but it is expected to rebound.
The flames started in Ashdown Forest Sunday night, destroying a valley area near Duddleswell, the BBC reported.
Fire officials said the undergrowth was dry and the fire quickly spread, burning about 35 acres of the woodland, CNN reported.
The area was described "as dry as straw," by Chris Sutton, an area forest ranger. He said ground-nesting birds would have had their homes and eggs destroyed. some reptiles may not have been able to escape the flames, but deer, foxes and other large animals were able to survive, the BBC reported.
Sutton told the BBC hope is not lost. "Within four weeks, we'll have grass growing and in six months you probably won't know too much has gone on here."
This wasn't the first fire in the area this year. In February, planned burnings started two fires after "a freak gust of wind combined with unseasonably dry conditions," officials, told the BBC.
Writer AA Milne came up with the Winnie the Pooh stories while he lived in the area in the 1920s, CNN reported.
About the Author
