PENDINE: Hills above tourist seaside village still burning 15 hours after firefighters were called

The wildfire on the hills above Pendine was still burning on Monday morning, 15 hours after firefighters were first called to it.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service says crews have been at the fire near Morfa Bychan beach since 8.20pm on Sunday and are still working to bring it under control.

Pendine is one of the busiest places on the Carmarthenshire coast in mid August, with seven miles of sand and the beach where the world land speed record was broken 100 years ago.

Pendine Sands Holiday Park and Pendine Bay Caravan Park sit directly beneath the hills that have been burning since Sunday night, at the height of their season.

Reaching the fire has meant “challenging conditions”, the service says, with firefighters having to get in through “dense undergrowth”.

Even so, it says “significant progress” has been made in “containing and extinguishing the fire”.

Four fire engines and one water bowser remain at the scene, according to the service.

Firefighters from nine stations have attended: Whitland, Tenby, Carmarthen, Pembroke Dock, Tumble, Narberth, Haverfordwest, Kidwelly and Llandeilo.

Crews have had “valuable assistance” from local farmers, the service says, who have supported the operation with tractors and water tankers.

The service is asking people to keep away from the affected areas, and says anyone whose home is affected by smoke should stay indoors where possible with windows and doors closed, then open up to ventilate once the smoke has cleared. Anyone who sees flames should call 999.

No cause has been given.

Beach parking closed and a plea to stop driving in to watch

Pendine Community Council says beach parking will not open on Monday because of what it calls the ongoing cliff fire.

The council says the fire is now largely contained, but that emergency services remain in the area and it does not want to encourage traffic that “could obstruct or delay emergency access”.

It has asked people to avoid unnecessary journeys to the village and keep the surrounding roads clear for fire appliances.

Its appeal on Sunday night was blunter. People were told not to travel to Pendine to watch, photograph or film the fire, with spectators risking blocking or delaying crews.

Roads also had to stay clear in case residents and holiday guests staying in the village needed to evacuate, the council said, with the fire service “dealing with a significant ongoing incident”.

What people in Pendine were watching from their caravans

Photographs shared on Facebook show flames running down the cliff towards the sand at Morfa Bychan, and the smoke above the headland lit orange over the lights of the seafront shops.

Martin Stockton, who photographed the fire from the front at Pendine, said it had spread up the hill from Morfa Bychan, with firefighters “battling to stop it coming over the hill”.

Gary Williams posted pictures from Pendine Bay Caravan Park showing flames in the trees beyond the awnings, while Josh Brace photographed the plume above the seafront shops.

Christopher Jones caught the smoke drifting over rows of static caravans with the hillside alight behind them.

In a Pendine holiday let group, hosts told guests there was no risk to the village as far as they were aware, but that a light covering of ash had settled on decking and other surfaces, and asked anyone affected to speak to their hosts.

A woman living on a farm near the fire posted on Monday morning that it was still burning in woods opposite her, and said she was worried the wind would shift and start it up again.

A seafront business said the village woke to the fire under control after overnight rain, thanking the emergency services and the local farmers and urging people to leave the barbecues alone because “it’s still so dry everywhere”.

Rhandirmwyn is still a major incident 30 miles away

The Pendine fire comes with the service already running a major incident at Rhandirmwyn, near Llandovery, where a wildfire has burned for days.

In its most recent update on that fire, on Saturday, the service said several homes remained evacuated as a precaution, with a helicopter carrying out water drops and crews from North Wales and Lancashire fire services working alongside its own. Carmarthenshire Council’s rest centre at Llandovery Leisure Centre has stayed open, with road closures around the fireground.

Phones across Wales sounded on Friday afternoon with a government emergency alert warning of a very high risk of wildfires, hours after disposable barbecues were banned from sale across Britain.

The whole of Wales has been in drought since the end of July, after the driest July in 190 years brought just 8% of the country’s average rainfall.