Over 120 acres of land burned to the ground after major gorse fire at Cornish nature reserve
Cornwall Wildlife Trust says the blaze at Bartinney Downs Nature Reserve near St Just has been reported to police
Last updated 7th Apr 2021
More than 120 acres of land has been burned to the ground as a result of that major gorse fire in west Cornwall.
Firefighters were battling the blaze at Bartinney Downs Nature Reserve for over 20 hours.
Cornwall Wildlife Trust says many animals like voles and adders are likely to have died.
Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service received multiple calls on the morning of Easter Monday.
Crews from St Just to Perranporth remained at the scene until well into the evening, after the flames were fanned by strong winds.
Cornwall Wildlife Trust has registered the incident with Devon and Cornwall Police and is continuing to assess the damage caused.
It says on initial inspection, the site's extensive and specialist fencing has been burned but fortunately the site's vegetation management helped to slow and stop the fire from spreading.
The fire is believed to have started on heathland adjacent to the reserve and rapidly grew due to strong winds.
"Controlled burns are an important way of managing heathlands, but they must be planned carefully and carried out at the right time of year.
"The fires that have burned at Bartinney Downs are nothing of the sort and couldn't have come at a worse time, with the awakening of nature in Spring and the arrival of newborn wildlife.
"Thankfully our costs to repair the damage look to be low but incidents such as these are a massive set back to our work and our ability to provide the best possible habitats for Cornwall's wildlife".
Callum Deveney, Head of Nature Reserves at Cornwall Wildlife Trust
"Cornwall Wildlife Trust would like to thank members of the local community for alerting the fire to emergency services, as well as the fire brigades for their rapid response which has saved much of the nature reserve from destruction.
"This is the second unexpected fire that has taken place on a Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserve this year. In February around a quarter of Rosenannon Downs Nature Reserve, equivalent to over 20 hectares, had been burned to the ground in a suspected act of arson. Thanks to donations made to an emergency appeal, Cornwall Wildlife Trust was able to carry out restoration work to assist nature's recovery of the area.
"Wildfires are one of several issues impacting Cornwall Wildlife Trust's nature reserves. With lockdown restrictions easing and an increase in visitors to Cornwall's reserves, the Trust would like to ask for everyone's help in protecting and respecting the countryside and reporting any signs of disturbance or fire to the local authorities".
Cornwall Wildlife Trust
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