Fire crews battling fresh wave on Monday

THE fire service said it was under “significant pressure” on Monday night as crews battled two fresh wildfires.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to “large-scale fires” in Maentwrog and Aberdeunant in Gwynedd, with a large number of resources at the scene of both incidents.

In Maentwrog, six fire crews were at the scene and one incident command unit was on the way on Monday night, while in Aberdeunant, five crews were in attendance with another five on the way.

Paul Scott, senior fire safety manager for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Many thanks to the public for their calls regarding these incidents – crews are in attendance and tackling the fires.

“These large scale fires mean that our resources are currently under a significant amount of pressure.”

Mr Scott then repeated his previous appeal regarding the practice of controlled burning (see main piece, left):

“Many of the wildfires we have attended are ‘controlled burns,’ which have spread.

“Controlled burns are not always necessary and people should think twice before attempting them.

“Please do not burn unless you really need to.

“If you do need to burn before the end of the upland burning season on Thursday, please ensure that you have a burn plan in place, you have adequate resources in place to control the fire and that you notify our control room on 01931 20522006.

“I’d also appeal to the public to be aware when out and about in the countryside, and to report any potential fire hazards or deliberate fire-setting.”

The fires are the latest in a series which have hit the region after a recent spell of warm and dry weather.

Between Friday and Sunday, control room staff from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service dealt with 364 calls, 31 of which were fires in the open.