Fire crews tackle wildfires, as concern grown with the weather

Local TV

Fires stretched from Swansea to Caerphilly on Tuesday night, with fire crews working through the night in some areas to keep it under control. With weather getting warmer, there is growing concern wildfires could continue across Wales.

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00:00Fire crews battled multiple wildfires across Wales on Tuesday evening, with one of the

00:06largest tearing through as many as 20 hectares of land in Llydyrch near Swansea.

00:11The fire on Gellirwestad Mountain sent flames and thick smoke into the night sky, visible

00:16for miles.

00:17Crews from Morriston, Pontarddaui and Neath fought the blaze for more than four hours

00:21before finally bringing it under control just after 11pm.

00:25But Llydyrch wasn't the only area affected as significant grass fires also broke out

00:29in Caerphilly, where immunity services worked late into the night to prevent it from spreading

00:33further.

00:34Residents reported the strong smell of smoke, and with warmer, drier conditions worsening,

00:39many fear it won't be the last time that fires threaten the area.

00:42Clare Kempster, who lives in Craig Kevin Park near Llydyrch, said wildfires have been breaking

00:46out in the area for the past week.

00:48She said they do land management on gorse bushes, sometimes it's the farmers clearing

00:52the gorse bushes, and sometimes it's an accident.

00:56At one point the fire was only a few hundred metres from her house, she said.

01:01Elsewhere fires were reported in Ferndale, Myerdy Mountain, Ogmore Vale, Gallipentra

01:05and Fairwood Common in Swansea, as spokesperson for South Wales Fire and Rescue described

01:11the night as a pretty non-stop, with crews tackling multiple incidents across the region.

01:16With warmer weather on the way, there are growing concerns that more wildfires could

01:20break out in the coming weeks.

01:22Fire services are urging the public to take extra care in rural areas and to report any

01:26signs of fire immediately.

01:30With such high temperatures so early on in the year, there is certainly a level of concern

01:34in some areas.

01:35So many people around the country will be hoping wildfires don't become a theme as weather

01:40gets warmer.

01:41James Beech Watkins, reporting for Local TV.

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