Arsonists stalking the hills as fires wreak havoc
SHOCKING helicopter footage has captured the scale of a huge grass fire which burned for over seven hours in Wattsville.
At 2.01pm on Wednesday, South Wales Fire and Rescue responded to reports of a large grass fire at the rear of Black Vein Industrial Estate.
Upon arrival, the crews were faced with a fire spreading quickly to affect 80 hectares of grassland and forestry.
Over the course of the seven hours that emergency services battled the fire, six fire engines, two specialist wildfire vehicles and a helicopter were deployed to the scene.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service worked in partnership with Gwent Police, Natural Resources Wales and the local authority to get the fire under control with a stop message being received at 9.08pm.
Now, the fire service have released helicopter footage showing the scale of the fire.
This fire is just the latest in a series of emergencies after the Brecon Beacons was ravaged by deliberate fires over Easter weekend.
A South Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “This was another difficult and challenging incident undertaken by partners over many hours to bring this fire under control.
“Emergency services remained at the scene until the evening dealing with small pockets of fire and smoke and to ensure the fire did not impact or effect the surrounding communities.”
Incident commander, group manager
Matt Jones, said: “We ask members of the public to pass on any information they may have which would can assist us in identifying the cause of this fire. Our crews from all over South Wales have been working in difficult, challenging conditions to ensure the fire does not spread and impact the local community and further damage the surrounding area and wildlife.
“Anyone who has information about the deliberate grass fires should contact 101 immediately, or they call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Anybody who sees a fire, or anyone starting a fire, should call 999 immediately.”
On Easter Sunday, firefighter Craig Hope filmed the aftermath of a grass fire from the air as he flew over the Pontsticill Reservoir in the Brecon Beacons.
Some fires were still smouldering, while much of the mountainside had been left blackened and charred. The fires, spread over 1,300 hectares, had burned for more than three days as they spread west towards Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil. Most of the fires are believed to have been started deliberately and are being treated as arson.
Less than 10 miles away as the crow flies, Natural Resources Wales said five fires had caused over £100,000 worth of damage to the Afan and Seven Sisters forests as well as destroying 80,000 newly planted trees.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service has been called out to more than 500 grass and rubbish fires since March.
Fighting the fires is “exhausting” and “unnecessary” work at a time when the country is on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.”