Grass fires alert amid dry spell

Firefighters say grass blazes put great pressure on resources

Firefighters in several areas of Wales have tackled dozens of mountain and grass blazes amid the dry weather.

Mid And West Wales Fire Service were called to Abercrave, Newport, near Fishguard, Tregaron, Crymych, Llandysul and Pontarddulais.

Many were begun deliberately, and North Wales Fire Service asked people "to stop and think about the consequences".

Teams from Caernarfon, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Pwllheli and Llanberis were also called out.

A a spate of incidents in the Gwynedd area had "tied up valuable resources for some considerable time", with large areas of gorse and bracken ablaze.

Visitors to the countryside are also urged to take extra care to reduce the risk of fire.

North Wales senior fire safety manager Richard Fairhead said dry weather raised the risk of fires in countryside areas, and many were "ignited deliberately or involved uncontrolled burning by landowners which had been left unattended".

He said: "Fires like this quite often occur in areas where access is extremely difficult and water supply is limited, placing tremendous pressure on resources, with firefighters tied up for a considerable length of time trying to bring them under control.

"These fires put homes at risk, endanger the lives of people and fire crews - keeping them from attending genuine emergencies, endanger livestock, and cost the local economy large amounts of money as well as blighting the local countryside.

"We urge people to think again before getting involved in grass arson and to be responsible when it comes to controlled burning.

"Setting fires is a criminal offence and we are actively working alongside North Wales Police to combat these incidents, employing the police helicopter to pinpoint the fires and look out for perpetrators."

Anyone with information on crimes can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. When landowners intend to start controlled fires they are asked on the day concerned to tell fire service control of the location by calling 01745 535805.