The Infamous Hundred Acre Wood From Winnie-the-Pooh In Critical State After Forest Fire
“Winnie-the-Pooh” and his friends Eeyore, Rabbit, Tigger, Owl, Roo Piglet and more all live in the “Hundred Acre Wood,” but the real-life forest that inspired the children’s story – Ashdown Forest – is in a critical state.
On Monday night, nearly 50 acres of Ashdown Forest, located in Sussex County, United Kingdom, was destroyed by flames. The blaze was so bad that size fire crews were dispatched to the scene, but thankfully, emergency personnel has since been able to scale back to four crews.
A fire service spokesperson spoke to the news saying how it was unusual for a fire of that size to occur at night. Taking into consideration the terrain of the landscape of where the fire started, the spokesperson shared that Ashdown Forest had a very dry undergrowth, which despite the recent rain, allowed for the fire to catch and spread quickly.
Ashdown Forest was once the home to the “Winnie-the-Pooh” author A.A. Milne, who lived in the area, near the town of Hartfield. It was in the 1920s that he came up with the idea of the “Hundred Acre Woods.”
The forest, which was once used for deer hunting, is now under national and international protection because of its wildlife. Despite the damage and loss of some wildlife from the fire, Ashdown Forest Ranger Chris Sutton told news media that four weeks will be enough time to have the grass growing again while in six months everything should return to normal.
By: Maytinee Kramer
