A wildfire broke out near Land's End Airport in the St Buryan area of Cornwall on Wednesday, prompting the airport to close temporarily and evacuate passengers and staff. Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze began at around 12:20 BST and sent four fire appliances to tackle it, with initial crews requesting reinforcements shortly after arriving.
An airport spokesperson confirmed the closure was a precautionary measure while emergency services dealt with the fire.
We are aware of a fire near Land's End Airport, being managed by emergency services. As a precaution, the airport is temporarily closed and passengers and employees are being moved away from the site.
What else is Cornwall's fire service dealing with?
Beyond the St Buryan blaze, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service confirmed crews were also tackling a separate fire in open land at Nanquidno near St Just, according to Cornwall Council's fire service updates. Residents nearby were asked to keep windows and doors shut because of the smoke.
The service issued a further warning to people in Sennen and the wider Land's End area, urging them to keep doors and windows closed due to heavy smoke logging drifting across the district, per the same update. Local reporting from a regional news outlet's social media update indicated that two separate fire stations had sent crews to the scene, and that despite the closure, it appeared none of Land's End Airport's scheduled flights had actually been disrupted by the fire.
What other fires have broken out in the region recently?
The St Buryan and Nanquidno fires come amid a string of wildfires across Devon and Cornwall in the past 24 hours, with fire services urging residents to avoid controlled burns altogether. On Tuesday, crews battled two separate wildfires in Cornwall, one near Mawgan Porth and another in the Porth area of Newquay, where residents were told to keep windows and doors closed because of a heavy smoke plume.
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service also deployed four appliances to a wildfire at Carnmarth, near Lanner, where smoke was reported drifting toward Lanner and Redruth. Firefighters asked drivers passing through the area to take extra care. A separate large fire was reported at Advent, near Camelford, at around midnight on Wednesday.
In Devon, firefighters tackled a grassland blaze at Mincinglake Valley Park that forced several residents to flee their homes. As of Wednesday morning, crews remained at the scene monitoring the area and dampening down hot spots.
Devon Wildlife Trust described the damage at Mincinglake as severe, warning it could take several years for the local wildlife to recover.
Land manager Matt Boydell said the destruction was distressing to witness.
The elements of the grassland and some of the scrub has been lost, but those are the elements that do come back quicker. Luckily, from a very quick look, it looks as though some of the sort of larger trees haven't had too much damage, which is a real relief because, obviously, those are the elements that take decades to return. The amazing thing with wildlife is, if you give it space and you give it time and some support, it will recover and it will recover back to what it was.
Liz Pole, a Labour councillor on Exeter City Council, visited the scene at Mincinglake on Tuesday and described the sight as unsettling.
It was just mostly the dry grass that was combusting and so there was just a lot of smouldering.
Why are officials so worried about controlled burns right now?
A hosepipe ban remains in force across Devon and Cornwall as hot, dry weather strains local water supplies, with more than two-thirds of England now officially classified as in drought. Controlled burning — a planned technique used to clear old heather and vegetation from moorland and reduce future wildfire risk — has become especially dangerous under these conditions.
Cornwall's fire service said ground and vegetation across the county remained exceptionally dry, sharply raising the likelihood that any fire could spread out of control.
Without an immediate and effective means of extinguishment, a bonfire or controlled burn can quickly escalate and become difficult to control, placing people, property, wildlife and the environment at risk. We also ask everyone to exercise extra caution when using barbecues, disposing of smoking materials and enjoying Cornwall's countryside, coastline and open spaces.
According to a Cornwall news outlet's report, the fire service's public guidance went further still, specifically telling residents to avoid lighting fires or barbecues in the countryside, to dispose of smoking materials responsibly, and never to leave rubbish behind that could fuel further blazes.
This run of fires fits a wider pattern seen this summer. Earlier reporting on wildfires persisting across the UK amid extreme pressure on fire services described major incidents stretching from Conwy to Glossop as prolonged heatwave conditions kept fire risk elevated nationwide. Separately, more than 200 wildfires were recorded across England and Wales within a two-week period, including one near Pontypool that forced campers to evacuate as smoke from the Blaenavon wildfire spread, a surge that has prompted renewed calls for better land management.
What happens next?
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service said crews would continue working to bring the St Buryan fire under control, while residents in affected areas, including Sennen and Land's End, were asked to keep their windows and doors closed until conditions improve, according to the fire service's public update. No confirmed timeline has been given for when Land's End Airport will reopen.
Key Facts
- The St Buryan wildfire near Land's End Airport broke out at around 12:20 BST, prompting a temporary airport closure.
- Four fire appliances responded to the St Buryan blaze; a separate fire was also reported at Nanquidno near St Just.
- Two fire stations sent crews to the scene, and reports indicate scheduled flights were not disrupted.
- A hosepipe ban remains active across Devon and Cornwall amid drought conditions affecting more than two-thirds of England.
- Wildfires this week also struck Mawgan Porth, Newquay, Carnmarth, Camelford and Mincinglake Valley Park in Devon.
