Discarded cigarette causes 24-hour forest fire in Carrog

A DISCARDED cigarette sparked a 24-hour woodland blaze.
Fifty-five firefighters battled raging flames that engulfed 10 acres of cleared forestry in Carrog near Corwen.
The fire broke out just after 1pm on Monday and crews were still damping down the area last night.At the height of the fire, they had to shuttle water from the River Dee two miles away in their bid to bring the flames under control.
Yesterday, fire investigators said they believe a cigarette caused the inferno, which was tackled by teams from Corwen, Llangollen, Ruthin, Bala, Cerrigydrudion, Chirk, Prestatyn and Conwy, as well as a water carrier from Wrexham, and the Incident Command Unit from Rhyl.
The area affected was described as 10 acres of cleared forestry and brushwood.
A North Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: The fire appears to have been caused by careless disposal of smoking materials.
“Two four-wheeled vehicles and two appliances ferried water and damped down deep-seated hotspots.
“In total, approximately 55 firefighters attended the incident.”
An eye witness, who did not want to be named said: “Orange flames were peaking quite high causing really dense smoke. Everywhere looked like it was covered with thick black fog that started to sting my eyes after just a short while.
“The firefighters were frantically trying to bring the blaze under control.”
Gareth Griffiths, senior operations manager said: “The fire appears to have been caused by careless disposal of a cigarette. Fires like this place tremendous pressure on resources, with firefighters tied up for a considerable length of time trying to bring them under control.
“These fires put the lives of the public and fire crews at risk and blight the countryside.”
He added: “We urge people to think again about the consequences of their actions – carelessly discarded cigarette ends and smoking materials can easily start fires which spread quickly and ferociously.”