Firefighters are at the scene of a wildfire on Bangor Mountain, with smoke billowing high into the sky. The blaze was spotted from around 5.30pm on Friday, with video footage captured by Awel Davies in Upper Bangor showing the extent of the fire.
Local reports and response
One local told WalesOnline that the fire is located on the mountain close to the university halls of residence. Another local shared on social media earlier on Thursday evening that the fire looked “absolutely massive”. By around 9pm, another wrote that the fire had largely died down, but that firefighters remained at the scene.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it had received a “high volume” of calls about the incident. A spokesman said: “We are experiencing a high volume of calls relating to a grass fire on Bangor Mountain. Firefighters are in attendance. Please avoid the area as emergency services are dealing with the incident.”
Context of recent wildfires in Wales
The fire comes as crews have been battling a number of blazes across Wales, some spanning the size of hundreds of football pitches. Some of the worst fires include one in Blaenavon, which created smoke that people could smell up to 30 miles away, as well as one at the Rhinogydd mountains near Harlech in north Wales which first broke out 11 days ago.
On Wednesday, the Welsh Government said it had activated "crisis management arrangements" in response to the large number of significant wildfires. It added that it had been told by the Ministry of Defence that there are no helicopters available to help crews on the ground tackle the blazes, something which has drawn criticism from residents and farmers in areas affected by wildfires. However, on Thursday, Natural Resources Wales confirmed a specialist firefighting helicopter would be deployed to Rhinogydd on Friday morning to support the ongoing response to the wildfire.
