Cornish peninsula hit by at least half a dozen gorse fires in just over a week

Crews fought to stop the blaze at Gwenter spreading to nearby homes and remained at the scene overnight

Author: Emma HartPublished 10th Mar 2021

The latest gorse fire to break out on the Lizard is one of at least six on the Cornish peninsula in just over a week.

Firefighters were battling to stop the blaze at Gwenter from spreading to nearby homes.

They were called on Tuesday afternoon (9th March) and remained at the scene through the night to make sure hotspots did not reignite.

Firefighters have been battling to top a gorse fire on the Lizard spreading to nearby homes

Crews from Mullion, Helston and St Keverne had already been called to the Goonhilly Downs area earlier in the day.

In the last week, they have been scrambled to separate blazes on the Downs, Predannack and Ruan Minor.

The gorse fire at Gwenter is one of at least six to hit the Cornish peninsula in a week

"Crews from Mullion, Helston and St. Keverne have been committed on the Lizard peninsula this afternoon.

"Initially crews attended Goonhilly Downs area and dealt with approximately one hectare of gorse, which was extinguished using beaters.

"Crews then were mobilised to a further incident in the Gwenter area. A water carrier from Helston also attended.

"Crews were involved in protecting two properties which could have been threatened by the advancing gorse fire. Contingency was put in place to protect the properties and to also proceed to extinguish the fire. The incident is still ongoing at 1815 hours.

"Update at 21:15: all crews will start leaving scene shortly. One appliance from St Just will remain on scene monitoring this location throughout the night for any reignition.

"Any further incident details will be updated as and when they become available".

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service

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