Large wildfires have affected the Dyffryn Nantlle area of Gwynedd in the last 24 hours. Firefighters and a helicopter have been brought in to help put out the blaze in Mynydd Tal y Mignedd and Mynydd Mawr, and smoke can be seen from as far away as Anglesey.
A blaze began on Wednesday afternoon near Y Fron village, which covered an area of 100,000 sqm before four appliances and a specialist wildfire unit were able to tackle it. A helicopter from south Wales has also travelled to the area to help by dropping water on the fire.
The North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is urging residents in the villages of Y Fron, Rhosgadfan and Rhostryfan near Caernarfon to keep windows and doors closed. A spokesperson said: "We’re monitoring the fire but there remains considerable smoke in these areas".
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During this season, burning of heather, grass, bracken and gorse is permitted up until March 15 or up to 31 March in upland areas. The burning season can see many people trying to do controlled burns, but will often result in uncontrolled burns. It is against the law to burn outside of the burning season and can result in penalties of up to £1000.
In a video from the scene, firefighter Jeff Hall said it was "either a controlled burn or a deliberate ignition that has got out of control, which is taking massive resources from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service". He added: "You might be also able to see helicopter usage also. This places a massive drain on our resources, in conjunction with a fire that we had in Nantlle Ridge yesterday.
"I implore the people of North Wales, think about any burns that you may be creating - and even if you believe are controlled - you need a controlled burn plan in place to ensure that you can deal with it and it doesn't get out of hand.
"Please think about the environment, the wildlife that we have around us and the actual environment that you can see, from the size of that smoke plume this morning."
Crews from Mid and West and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were also called to tackle a number of fires in areas such as Crickhowell in Powys, Upper Brynamman in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire and Abertridwr in Caerphilly. It comes after a spell of warm and dry weather this week.
