RADCLIFFE Athletic Club’s Tony Holt had his dream of competing in the Lake Tahoe Ironman in California snuffed out by a huge fire.

Competitors were under starters orders when organisers had to abandon the gruelling race due to air pollution caused by the raging inferno.

Holt, a fire officer himself, had travelled to California as part of a seven-man team from the UK Fire and Rescue Service.

He said: “We were literally in the water for the swim when they announced it was being cancelled. It was a big disappointment for us all.”

The devastating fire, known as the King Fire, has been raging in Northern California for more than a week covering thousands of acres and causing evacuations on a huge scale.

Organisers of the Ironman had been monitoring the conditions and the day before believed the wind direction would mean air quality would not be affected in the Lake Tahoe basin, where the Ironman was taking place.

But, following recommendations from State of California health officials, they were forced to call off the race.