Shropshire crews battle outdoor fires across county including burning gorse on Lond Mynd and farm waste in Wem
There were at least nine outdoor fires in the county
Shropshire fire crews spent hours battling fires in the open across the county, including at one of its most prominent landmarks.
A blaze on the Long Mynd affecting a 40m by 20m area of gorse and peat was one of at least nine outdoor fires in the county on Sunday (July 19).
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews from Church Stretton station were called to deal with the fire near Pole Bank, the highest point on the Long Mynd plateau, at 4.30pm and used hosereel jets to tackle the fire before damping down and checking for hotspots using thermal imaging.
The National Trust thanked the firefighters for their “swift response” that prevented the fire spreading further. A spokesperson for the trust said the Long Mynd’s snow gates, designed to stop traffic getting onto the plateau in hazardous conditions, will be closed “until the risk of further wildfire has reduced”.
Dominic Bowyer, countryside manager for the National Trust, said: “We're asking everyone visiting the countryside to help us prevent wildfires by leaving BBQs and campfires at home, not smoking on the hills, taking all litter home with them, and calling 999 immediately if they see any signs of fire.”
At around the same time firefighters from Shrewsbury station were battling a fire involving a hedgerow and the base of a telegraph pole in Upper Astley near the county town. The crew used two hosereel jets.
Earlier, at 11.45am, crews from Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Hodnet had been called to tackle a fire in a hedge off the B4397 at Ruyton-XI-Towns which had spread to a forested area. The crews used four hose reel jets to contain it; West Mercia Police also attended.
Soon after 3pm, crews from several stations were called to Abbey Green in Whixall where a 50m by 50m area of grassland was burning. The fire, which also spread to a wooden shed, was extinguished by the fire service.
In Telford a fire crew was called to Priory Road where a “large tree stump” had caught fire. Firefighters attended at around 4.30pm and used a hosereel jet to put it out.
Then at around 4.45pm a small fire broke out at the Battlefield Heritage Site north of Shrewsbury. A crew from Shrewsbury station was able to extinguish it using buckets of water.
At 5.32pm, Wem station’s crew rushed to Whitchurch Road in Wem where farmyard waste measuring 40m by 10m was alight. The firefighters used a hosereel jet to get it under control.
An SFRS spokesperson said Shrewsbury station was in action again at around 8pm when reports were received of “one old mattress and hedgerow involved in fire” in Upton Lane, Monkmoor.
At 8.30pm Telford firefighters used buckets of water and rakes to extinguish a “small fire” in Holyhead Road.
And at 9.40pm the Telford Central crew was called to The Common in Donnington to a “fire involving twigs and branches”; the team used buckets of water to extinguish it.
Learn more about fire safety at https://www.shropshirefire.gov.uk/
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