Western Morning News (Saturday)
High winds cause chaos in the West
Moorland flames are fanned and high tides driven onto the shore
ROADS were closed, the main rail line shut for a time and firefighters battled a series of moorland fires as high winds battered the Westcountry fanning flames and driving tides onshore.
Three fires on Bodmin Moor, Dartmoor and Exmoor saw dozens of firefighters and park rangers spend an anxious night bringing the flames under control on Thursday.
Hundreds of acres of moorland have been damaged and last night patrols were mounted on Bodmin Moor because of suspicions the fire there may have been started deliberately. All three blazes are under investigation.
Meanwhile, the main line at Dawlish, severed in a serious storm little more than seven years ago, was closed for a time as waves again washed over the line. A number of train services were affected.
A statement from National Rail said: “Due to the sea flooding the railway between Newton Abbot and Exeter St Davids the line towards Plymouth is blocked. Some stations between Newton Abbot and Exeter St Davids will not be served.” The line was re-opened later, however.
But the vulnerable road between Torcross and Strete in South Devon, which crosses the shingle ridge between Slapton Ley and the sea will stay shut until Monday after high winds drove debris and shingle onshore. More bad weather is forecast for Sunday and there are fears that if the road is seriously damaged it might not be repaired again.
STRONG winds fanned the flames of several moorland fires across the Westcountry early yesterday as well as causing huge waves to break over roads and promenades along our coasts.
Fires affected Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor overnight on Thursday while waves whipped up by high winds caused road closures from Penzance to the Devon-Dorset border.
And there were fears last night for the future of the A379 Slapton Line that runs between Torcross and Strete in South Devon after a high tide, driven onshore by an easterly gale sent debris across the road.
South Hams Council posted a message online saying: “Due to high winds and predicted high tides over the weekend, the road at Slapton Line has been closed. Beesands Car Park is currently covered by a large amount of shingle due to the stormy weather.”
The road, a major holiday route in summer between Kingsbridge and Dartmouth and an essential link for hundreds of villagers on the South Devon coast, was re-routed and extensively repaired after major storms in 2018. But highways officials warned further damage might result in the road being given up to the sea.
Meanwhile firefighters in Devon, Somerset and Cornwall were battling serious gorse fires overnight on Thursday and into yesterday as the high winds fanned flames. The cause of the fires is still unclear.
Investigations are set to begin into the cause of the huge blaze which swept across Dartmoor late on Thursday.
Park rangers said yesterday that the fire was effectively ‘out’, but Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said that an official ‘stop’ had not yet been put on the incident.
Rob Steemson, Dartmoor National Park emergency officer, said the cause of the fire was now “under investigation and it’s not known at this point”.
He added: “The fire is not out but firefighters and rangers are still out there checking, trying to determine the size of the area of the damage, see where the borders of it is - which stream, which river.” Mr Steemson said the fire appears to have been “on hills to the north east of Peter Tavy, encompassing Standon Hill, Lynch Tor, Walkham Spur, Walkham Head and towards River Tavy Cleave”.
He said: “We’re not sure where it started. We currently have a mix of rangers on foot and commoners on quad bikes trying to get around and examine the area.”
Mr Steemson added: “Normally we would start to get such fires in March and April, when it dries and the wind goes East and South East. The tops of the vegetation above the peat are particularly prone and dries out.
“The fire brigade and the police are out there looking to see if there’s any reason or where it may have started. They’ll be heading to the south eastern point of the fire and working along the edge to find the source.”
A blaze also caused significant damage on Exmoor’s West Anstey common. The 100 metre long gorse and heathland fire was also fanned by the strong winds. Firefighters from Dulverton and Bampton attended the scene, and extinguished the fire at around 12.40am.
And parts of Bodmin Moor were due to be patrolled last night after a gorse fire damaged a swathe of common grazing land at Millpool just after 10pm on Thursday night.
Crews from six fire stations were called to the blaze which was described as a three-mile stretch of high grass and gorse on fire. The fire may have been started deliberately and local people were being asked to watch out for suspicious activity.