Fire at film set of Prisoner of Azkaban

[Dave]

First reports look like the steam train set the grass on fire. That was once a common problem with steam trains, sparks from the train and dry winter grass.

Ananova:

Blaze still rages at Harry Potter film location

Fire crews are still battling to extinguish a fire which broke out at the location of the next Harry Potter film.

The heath fires broke out around historic Glenfinnan Viaduct, near Fort William in the Highlands.

The location will feature in The Prisoner of Azkaban, the latest film based on the adventures of novelist J K Rowling's teenage wizard.

Members of a Warner Brothers film crew were working at the spot on Saturday afternoon when the fires began.

More than 100 acres of scrubland was set alight in the blaze, which four fire crews are still battling to extinguish.

Nearby residents were evacuated as a precaution but were allowed to return to their homes on Saturday night.

A helicopter is due to return to the scene to drop water on part of the area.

A police spokesman said experts were still trying to establish the cause of the fire, which might have been started by the use of a steam train on the film set.

It is understood members of the Warner Brothers film crew helped put out parts of the fire .

A police spokesman said: "It is too early to say what caused the fire. The film crew was there at the time and will no doubt help investigators with inquiries."

Police said no-one was injured as a result of the fire.

edit: more at The Scotsman

[nic]

and this from MuggleNet:
During filming, the veteran steam train cast as the Hogwarts Express sparked a fire which destroyed up to 50 acres of heather moorland and trees on a Highland hillside.

A helicopter had to be brought in to bomb the blaze with water as over 20 firefighters and forestry workers struggled to prevent the fire, close to the Glenfinnan Viaduct in the West Highlands, from spreading and causing more damage. At one stage, fire was raging along a one-mile front.

Film-makers working for Warner Brothers were filming scenes for the third Potter movie - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Filming was temporarily suspended in the wake of the fire.

Sparks flying from the wheels of the train or from its funnel are believed to have ignited tinder-dry undergrowth as the train completed a run over the 90ft-high viaduct towards Glenfinnan station. Unusually for February, the area has not had any rain for 10 days

Glad to read no-one was hurt.