The community spirit and fire service response in dealing with the large wildfire in Carmarthenshire since Wednesday has been described as ‘outstanding’.
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service crews remained at the scene of the wildfire in the Rhandirmwyn area, near Llandovery on Friday evening, as firefighting operations continued for a third day.
The Major Incident declared on Thursday remains in place, with a multi-agency Tactical Coordination Group (TCG) continuing to coordinate the response, support affected communities and ensure a joined-up approach between emergency services and partner organisations.
Firefighters have worked throughout the night and into Friday to contain the fire, tackle hotspots and prevent further spread.
A spokesperson for the Fire Service stated: “Crews remain on scene carrying out firefighting operations while closely monitoring conditions across the affected area.”
Tenby Fire Station shared on Friday night: “37P1 in attendance at Rhandirmwyn, Llandovery wildfire this evening. What a shift the crews have put in up here. Community spirit up here is amazing. We’ve been well looked after. Diolch.”
Local councillor Handel Davies praised the ‘outstanding efforts’ of fire brigade services from all over Mid & West Wales along with additional aid from North Wales Fire Brigades - together with the unstinting support of local farmers with bowsers.
He said on Friday: “It appears that the fires are now being successfully contained in some locations but the situation still remains where they have not been extinguished.
“It is anticipated that essential aerial support will be provided today and tomorrow with a strategy being planned by the Fire Service devised to hopefully stop the fire within the next day or so but this will be largely be dependent upon wind and weather conditions.”
Cllr Davies said around around 220 workers and 50-60 residents at Coleg Elidyr – a specialist college for people with complex needs run by Elidyr Communities Trust – had left their site just south of Rhandirmwyn on Wednesday due to the fire.
Cllr Davies said efforts of the community in recent days hadn’t come as a surprise. “That’s the type of community we have got here and long may it continue,” he said.
Cllr Davies said food and drink was taken from JT’s Fish Bar to firefighters and £1,000 quickly raised in donations.
He praised farmers for the help they’ve given fire crews. “They’ve taken the bull by the horns,” he said.
Cllr Davies said he’d never known fires in the area like the one at Rhandirmwyn, and reckoned permanent fire breaks were needed to avoid “an accident waiting to happen” in the future.
Fire service manager Geraint Thomas described tree-height flames spreading in a pine forest north of Llandovery and how close the fire came to properties in the remote area.
Mr Thomas said the perimeter of the fire expanded to 480 hectares – around 670 football pitches – with areas of broadleaved woodland, mountain moorland as well as pine forest burning within it.
The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service area manager said it was now under control thanks largely to much cooler conditions on Friday.
“It’s really challenging terrain in places,” he said. “The majority of the fire is quite deep-seated in the pine forest. We were limited in what we could see.
“Some parts of the fire were very visible. We could see flames, and then smoke emerging elsewhere.
“Because of the denseness of the smoke it’s far harder to see the flames during the day. As it darkens they become more prominent.”
Mr Thomas said flames were tree-height in the pine forest and one to two-feet as they scorched nearby moorland.
He said conditions were particularly hot on Thursday. “The heat warms the fuel in front of the fire so it spreads more easily,” he said.
Some 24 residents in the scattered hamlet area, he said, were evacuated for their safety.
“The fire came very close to houses, and we were concerned,” he said.
Resources were targeted on protecting the homes, he said, with support from agricultural contractors who helped cut fire breaks and applied water from tractor water bowsers at a safe distance.
Mr Thomas said eight crews were at the scene on Friday afternoon including two from North Wales and that the fire, while contained, was being constantly monitored. “Today (Friday) it’s 10C cooler, there was mist in the air and less wind,” he said.
He thanked local people for bringing water and food to the crews, and added that the cause of the blaze, which the fire service said caused a smoke cloud rising 800ft above ground level, wasn’t known yet.
A rest centre was set up at Llandovery Leisure Centre for people impacted by the fire.
Wales has been exceptionally dry from mid-June onwards and exceptionally hot. A provisional temperature of 35.3C was recorded in Ceredigion on Thursday. If confirmed it would be the county’s hottest August day ever.
Numerous wildfires have burned in recent weeks often on in remote terrain, and it was announced on Friday that military resources are to be deployed in the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service area.
Mr Thomas, who has been in the fire service for 26 years, said: “I think it’s fair to say this summer has been particularly challenging, probably the busiest I have experienced in my career.”
The UK is expected to face hotter summers with dry conditions more likely as greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere trap more heat.
“We are seeing an increase in warmer summers at the moment,” said Mr Thomas, who lives near Ammanford. “In the winter we are seeing more rainfall, and we are preparing as a service to deal with that.”
As part of the Government's action to protect local areas and prevent further fires, the Prime Minister announced a package of immediate support for communities and frontline services.
This includes emergency funding for fire and rescue services facing the greatest operational pressures, military assistance in South Wales where around 100 personnel have been immediately deployed to support response and recovery efforts, and a temporary nationwide ban on the sale of disposable barbecues.
Retailers have been informed that disposable barbecues must be removed from sale immediately.
The temporary measure will remain under review but will stay in place while the heightened wildfire risk continues.
Millions of people received a ‘Severe Alert’ to their mobile phones from the Government at around 7pm on Friday evening (in both Welsh and English in Wales) which stated: ‘There is a very high risk of wildfires nationally. Residents, landowners and visitors should not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks. Even a small flame can rapidly develop into a major wildfire, placing lives, homes businesses and emergency responders at risk.
‘Follow official updates and report signs of fire immediately by calling 999’
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