A small area of Alton Towers was today briefly evacuated as a 'small fire' broke out in the Forbidden Valley section of theme park in Staffordshire, the company confirmed.
The incident happened in a toilet facility, which was unoccupied at the time. The 'contained' blaze was put out by staff before fire services arrived on the scene, where they confirmed that it was safe and clear.
The affected area was closed for around one hour and is now back open - the rest of the park remained open as normal to the public throughout the incident. One visitor wrote on X: "Never had a whole area of Alton Towers evacuated before! I'm confused as hell I hope nothing too serious has happened."
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Scenes of people leaving affected area earlier
Snaps were posted earlier of people having to leave the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers due to fire in one of its toilet facilities.
'OAP sprained ankle' claims visitor
One customer at Alton Towers today expressed frustration at their visit. They told StokeonTrentLive: "A total of four rides open at Alton Towers currently with Forbidden Valley totally shut off to guests.
"No communication from staff, we have just trekked through the gardens with two OAPs, one spraining her ankle, just to be told to turn around and go the other way. We’ve been kicked out of three queues and been on two rides all day.
"No refund offered, not even an ounce of sympathy from guest services with multiple people being informed that they cannot be refunded for fast track or even have them carried over to the following day. Shambles."
'Electrical extractor fan' was on fire
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that non one was injured following the fire. A spokesperson said: "We were called at 3pm today to Alton Towers resort in Staffordshire following reports of a small fire. Two crews were sent to the scene.
"A fire in an electrical extractor fan had been put out by resort staff prior to our arrival. No injuries were reported. One toilet was damaged and another was smoke-logged as a result of the fire.
"Crews ventilated the area and used tools to stop the fire spreading. Firefighters left the scene shortly before 4.30pm."
Firefighters attended the incident
The fire was put out by staff on the site. However, the fire service arrived aftewards and confirmed that the area and safe and clear to return to.
Affected area closed for ' approximately one hour'
Alton Towers further confrimed that the Forbidden Valley area was closed for approximately an hour just as as a precaution and that the affected toilet was not in use at the time of the incident.
While the exit of the park for hotel guests only was also closed for one hour while the incident was dealth with.
Alton Tower confirms 'small fire' broke out in Forbidden Valley - park remains open
A spokesperson for Alton Towers told us: "Earlier today, a small, contained fire was discovered by a colleague in a toilet facility within the Forbidden Valley area of the Resort.
"Our team quickly put out the fire, and as a precaution, we temporarily evacuated the area while we established the cause.
We’d like to thank our guests for their cooperation. The safety and wellbeing of our guests and team members is always our top priority.”
'Shambles' as visitors 'can't leave park through car park'
One visitor slammed Alton Towers in a social media post claiming that people can't leave the theme park through its car park entrance.
@altontowers we now can’t even leave the park through the car park entrance we want to despite walking 25 minutes with two OAPs towards forbidden valley. No communication with customers, nobody blocking off routes. Shambles.
— Mark Hodson (@scfc_dresden) August 11, 2025
No official word from Alton Towers yet
At the time of writing, the exact nature or cause of the alleged fire has yet to be confirmed by Alton Towers. However, the Mirror has contacted the theme park for any update, which we will relay to you as soon as we know.
'Forbidden Valley' area believed to be affected
Visitors at Alton Towers todays have taken to social media, with some claiming that the affected area is the Forbidden Valley inside the theme park.
left the park and went the long way, i just saw two paramedics by forbidden valley, stood outside bybthe footpath. it’s all completely desolate. stood by nemesis rn, can’t see anything. no people, it’s completely silent other than the normal background music. spooky
— moon !! (@63moonlight) August 11, 2025
Video shows people leaving area
A video posted on X by a visitor to Alton Towers shows a number of people appearing to leave an area of the theme park.
Forbidden Valley has just been evacuated with all guests being told to leave the area. #altontowers pic.twitter.com/XsHtlWKMGu
— p1x3l (@imnotp1x3l) August 11, 2025
Alton Tower area evacuated on Monday afternoon
An area of Alton Towers has today been evacuated with reports that a fire has broken out.