Firefighters spent more than five hours tackling a fire which broke out in a forest north of Carmarthen. Crews were called to an area near the Gwili Railway line between Carmarthen and Cynwyl Elfed shortly after 4pm on Thursday afternoon.
They remained at the scene until gone 9pm and fought to extinguish around 15 hectares of forestry - the equivalent of more than 35 acres. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
Firefighters from Carmarthen, Llandysul, Pontyates, Whitland, Newcastle Emlyn and Kidwelly all attended the scene and used fire beaters, three wildfire blowers, soft suction, 180 metres of hose reel, a light portable pump and knap sacks to bring the blaze under control.
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Traffic was affected on the A484 north of Carmarthen as fire engines attended the incident, and witnesses said smoke could be seen billowing into the air for miles around. One person who passed the area said: “I can’t believe how much smoke there was”, while another said “I’ve never experienced anything like it”. There were reports that people could smell smoke heading towards Carmarthen, and one person said that smoke could be seen as far away as Llangyndeyrn Mountain, a distance of more than 10 miles away.
Grass and wild fires are more common in periods of hot and dry weather, and Wales has seen a number of incidents in recent weeks. Last month, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said they had attended a number of wild fires in Powys which had been started deliberately. Images of grass and mountain fires were released showing crews battling flames as Wales basked in the first prolonged period of warm and sunny weather this year.
The fire service has not commented on the possible cause of Thursday’s fire north of Carmarthen.
