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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jonathon Hill & Alahna Kindred

Wales fire: Huge blaze covers mountainside as crews battle to save cherished habitat

A massive fire has covered the side of a mountain this evening as firefighters battle to save the wildlife habitat.

Two fire engines are at the scene battling the blaze in Rhigos in the Cynon Valley on Monday evening after they alerted by a dog walker at about 7pm

Onlookers said this fire was one of the worst they had ever seen before it started to die down a few hours later.

Images taken from the scene show the blaze scattered across the mountain as residents raised concerns it was unusual to see a fire this time of year, WalesOnline reports.

Fire crews tackle a large blaze on Rhondda mountainside (Wales Online WS)

Resident Cait Emma said she has never seen a fire on the side of the mountain as big as this evening.

She said: "No I’ve never seen anything as big as this. I think it’s because the ferns and grass are so dry."

She added that it was unusual to see a fire this time of year.

Cait said: "It is unusual for this time of year, it normally goes up in summertime.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown (Wales Online WS)

"I don’t think it was the farmers due to it being lambing season and those poor wildlife losing their habitats."

Another resident Garan Rhys Thomas says the fire looks as though it is dying down.

He said: "I've been here all my life and this is by far the worst I have ever seen.

"It's not very common in this area.

A dog walker raised the alarm about the blaze, fire crews said (Wales Online WS)

"There were layers of fire across the mountain, lines and lines of fire.

Garan told the BBC it was rare to see a wildfire this time of year.

He said: "We do get wildfires in the summer months but hardly ever at this time of year.

"It absolutely stunk, we had to get the clothes in off the line and we closed all the windows."

Fire crews remain at the scene more than three hours after ti was first reported (Wales Online WS)

He also added that he was worried about the lambs on the mountain.

He said: "There were layers of fire across the mountain, lines and lines of fire.

"If I were to guess I would say the flames were nearly 10ft high, just layering up the side of the mountain."

The cause of the fire is currently unknown as 30 acres were alight near Rhigos Industrial Estate, in the Penderyn area of Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Residents say they were worried about the lambs on the mountain (Wales Online WS)

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed they are at the scene.

No major roads were affected by the fire, WalesOnline reports.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "We were called to an incident at the Rhigos mountain at 7.04pm this evening.

Residents said this wildfire was one of the worst they had ever seen (Wales Online WS)

"The incident remains ongoing.

"One fire engine is in attendance and another fire engine is on its way to the incident."

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