'Frightening' wildfires in beauty spot into fourth day

1 hour ago 1

Ruth Rees Photography A sheep and a lamb are pictured standing on a hill in a valley. Behind them is a night sky lit up in red by wildfires in the distance.

Firefighters have entered their fourth day tackling wildfires spreading across a well-known Welsh beauty spot.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews have been responding to the fires in and around the Elan Valley area, in Powys, since Sunday.

A helicopter has been deployed to drop water on high risk areas, and National Trust Cymru confirmed Hafod Estate has been closed to the public as a precaution until further notice.

Firefighters are currently responding to the fires near Claerwen Reservoir and Teifi Pools, and have urged people not to visit the area.

Glyndwr Jones, a shepherd who lives at Claerwen Dam, described the fire as "quite frightening".

Elan Valley is home to 70 sq miles (181 sq km) of land consisting of dams, reservoirs and rugged landscapes.

It is home to four dams - Craig Goch, Garreg Ddu, Pen y Garreg and Caban Coch - which were built more than 120 years ago to supply clean water to Birmingham, then later to mid and south Wales.

MWWFRS Rhayader A lighthouse is pictured in the water, shining a light. Above it is a red sky, lit up by wildfires in the distance. The red colour is also reflected in the water.

The fire service have asked local residents to keep their windows and doors closed if there is thick smoke.

Meanwhile, South West Fire and Rescue Service said a wildfire was being tackled on Cowbridge Common, Vale of Glamorgan, on Wednesday.

Jones, who has been a shepherd for the Elan Valley Trust for 26 years, said the fire creates uncertainty and he will not know the amount of money he will lose until it has been put out.

"It's a big, big area. Big farms up this area. What are we talking, between 10,000 and 12,000 acres - could be more even, but it's a job to say," he said.

A man with a grey beard is pictured wearing a blue gilet and shirt. He is holding onto large machinery.

"I've been here 26 years. Not many years at all to compare with these tenanted farms on the top here.

"There's not many of them that'll say they've seen a fire like this, on this side of the Claerwen Dam.

"It's not a nice thing to have about, because it's so vast."

MWWFRS Rhayader A fire engine is pictured on a road under the night sky. Wildfires have lit up the dark with several spots pictured wit large amounts of smoke.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said a helicopter had been deployed to drop water onto the wildfires because of a high risk to nature and lack of significant rainfall over the coming days.

According to BBC Weather, rain is not forecast in the area until Friday, with Thursday set to bring dry conditions and a moderate breeze.

Richard Preece, duty tactical manager Wales at NRW, said the current dry weather has "significantly increased the fire risk".

"The helicopter is expected to carry out targeted water drops on the Elan Valley wildfire during the next few hours to extinguish or lessen the impacts of the fire," he said.

MWWFRS Rhayader Wildfires in a valley are pictured at a distance lighting up the night sky with an orange glow.

A spokesperson for National Trust Cymru said: "We are aware of a wildfire burning on land neighbouring the Hafod Estate in Mid Wales and have taken the precautionary measure to close the estate to visitors until further notice.

"Our ranger teams are in contact with the local fire service and monitoring the situation closely."

Read Entire Article