Firefighters are urging people to stop and think about the consequences of grass fires following a number of incidents over the weekend which have tied up valuable resources.

Crews were called to a large gorse fire in Llantysilio near Llangollen yesterday (26 March) at 15.52 hours and firefighters remain in attendance this morning (27 March). It is believed this started as a controlled burn which then spread out of control.

Since Friday, there have also been around 20 smaller incidents across North Wales involving grass, gorse and bracken - some deliberate, some as a result of controlled burning and others as a result of smoking materials or camp fires not extinguished properly. Many of these fires cause multiple calls to the control room from concerned members of the public.

Stuart Millington, Senior Fire Safety Manager, said:  “Whereas the number of incidents is relatively small, each has the potential to tie up resources and prevent us from attending other life threatening incidents.

“The dry weather has increased the risk of rural fires and and we would like to thank those people notifying us of their controlled burning and acting in a safe and responsible manner.

“The controlled burning season comes to an end on 31^st March and in the meantime we continue to urge people to inform us of any plans to undertake burns - during the permissible burning periods, on the day of the intended burn we would ask that landowners inform fire service control on 01931 522 006 of the location of the burn, this will prevent time and resources being wasted by the fire service attending a controlled fire.

“During drier periods, fires involving grass, bracken and heather can develop very quickly, particularly in raised winds, resulting in fires getting out of control and spreading to neighbouring properties or forestry, with the need for the fire and rescue service to be called out to extinguish them.

“We are urging visitors to the countryside to take extra care when they are out and about and reduce the risk of fire. Make sure that any smoking materials are discarded and extinguished properly. If you are out camping, again make sure that campfires or barbeques are fully extinguished.”