A nature reserve has said the wildlife “will never really be the same again” after a huge wildfire almost three months ago.
The blaze, which broke out on 29 July, started on the edge of RSPB Minsmere before it spread to neighbouring Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast.
Firefighters have been unable to determine the cause.
Ian Barthorpe, visitor experience officer at Minsmere, said the team was concerned about the long-term implications the fire.
“It’s going to be a long process of recovery of the habitat and some species like the deer and the birds have relocated to other parts of the reserve,” he explained.
“But unfortunately we’re really concerned about the impacts it will have on some of the invertebrates, the plants and the reptiles.
“It’ll be 20 years or more before those parts of the reserve start to look like they used to.”
Some trails and heathland areas of the site were hit by the fire, but fortunately wind conditions as well as the vegetation and marshland had stopped it spreading further into the reserve.
Parts of the heathland were still recording temperatures of more than 53C (127F) underground earlier this month.
