Ongoing Wildfires in Elan Valley
Firefighters have entered their fourth consecutive day combating wildfires that continue to spread across the renowned Elan Valley, a prominent beauty spot in Wales.
The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service reported that crews have been actively responding to the fires in and around the Elan Valley area, located in Powys, since Sunday.
A helicopter has been deployed to perform water drops over high-risk zones, while National Trust Cymru has confirmed that the Hafod Estate has been closed to the public as a precautionary measure until further notice.
Firefighters are currently addressing fires near Claerwen Reservoir and Teifi Pools, and authorities have urged the public to avoid visiting the affected area.
Local Impact and Resident Perspectives
Glyndwr Jones, a shepherd residing at Claerwen Dam, described the fire situation as
"quite frightening".
Elan Valley encompasses approximately 70 square miles (181 square kilometers) of land characterized by dams, reservoirs, and rugged terrain.
The valley contains four dams—Craig Goch, Garreg Ddu, Pen y Garreg, and Caban Coch—constructed over 120 years ago to provide clean water initially to Birmingham and subsequently to mid and south Wales.
The fire service has advised local residents to keep their windows and doors closed if thick smoke is present in their vicinity.
Additional Wildfire Activity
Separately, the South West Fire and Rescue Service reported that a wildfire was being addressed on Cowbridge Common in the Vale of Glamorgan on Wednesday.
Shepherd’s Concerns Over Losses
Jones, who has served as a shepherd for the Elan Valley Trust for 26 years, expressed uncertainty regarding the financial impact of the fire, stating he will not know the extent of his losses until the fire is extinguished.
"It's a big, big area. Big farms up this area. What are we talking, between 10,000 and 12,000 acres - could be more even, but it's a job to say,"
he said.
"I've been here 26 years. Not many years at all to compare with these tenanted farms on the top here.
"There's not many of them that'll say they've seen a fire like this, on this side of the Claerwen Dam.
"It's not a nice thing to have about, because it's so vast."
Response from Natural Resources Wales
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) confirmed that a helicopter has been deployed to conduct water drops on the wildfires due to the high risk posed to the natural environment and the forecasted lack of significant rainfall in the coming days.
According to BBC Weather, no rain is expected in the area until Friday, with Thursday anticipated to be dry with a moderate breeze.
Richard Preece, duty tactical manager for Wales at NRW, stated that the current dry weather conditions have
"significantly increased the fire risk".
He added,
"The helicopter is expected to carry out targeted water drops on the Elan Valley wildfire during the next few hours to extinguish or lessen the impacts of the fire."
National Trust Cymru Precautions
A spokesperson for National Trust Cymru commented,
"We are aware of a wildfire burning on land neighbouring the Hafod Estate in Mid Wales and have taken the precautionary measure to close the estate to visitors until further notice.
Our ranger teams are in contact with the local fire service and monitoring the situation closely."
