Beauty spot ablaze with 'frightening' wildfire

Firefighters have spent a fourth day tackling wildfires at a Powys beauty spot, while a separate fire has led to visitors being asked to avoid popular peak Pen y Fan.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews have been responding to the fires in the Elan Valley area since Sunday.

A helicopter dropped water on at-risk areas and National Trust Cymru said Hafod estate had been closed as a precaution.

Meanwhile, South Wales Fire and Rescue was facing "challenging conditions" tackling a wildfire in Bannau Brycheiniog National Park over 20 sq km.

Forestry and grassland was burning around Nant Ddu, south of Brecon people were urged to stay away from Pen y Fan until further notice.

Firefighters are currently responding to the fires near Claerwen Reservoir and Teifi Pools in Powys, and have urged people not to visit the area.

Glyndwr Jones, a shepherd who lives at Claerwen Dam, described the fire as "quite frightening".

Elan Valley is home to 70 sq miles (181 sq km) of land consisting of dams, reservoirs and rugged landscapes.

It is home to four dams - Craig Goch, Garreg Ddu, Pen y Garreg and Caban Coch - which were built more than 120 years ago to supply clean water to Birmingham, then later to mid and south Wales.

The fire service have asked local residents to keep their windows and doors closed if there is thick smoke.

Jones, who has been a shepherd for the Elan Valley Trust for 26 years, said the fire had created uncertainty and he will not know the financial impact until it has been put out.

"As a shepherd, I think about the stock," he said, adding that he was concerned about lambs that had been on the hills "all winter".

"It's a big, big area. Big farms up this area. What are we talking, between 10,000 and 12,000 acres - could be more even, but it's a job to say," he said.

"I've been here 26 years. Not many years at all to compare with these tenanted farms on the top here.

"There's not many of them that'll say they've seen a fire like this, on this side of the Claerwen Dam.

"It's not a nice thing to have about, because it's so vast."

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said a helicopter had been deployed to drop water onto the wildfires because of a high risk to nature and lack of significant rainfall over the coming days.

According to BBC Weather, rain is not forecast in the area until Friday, with Thursday set to bring dry conditions and a moderate breeze.

Richard Preece, duty tactical manager Wales at NRW, said the current dry weather has "significantly increased the fire risk".

"The helicopter is expected to carry out targeted water drops on the Elan Valley wildfire during the next few hours to extinguish or lessen the impacts of the fire," he said.

A spokesperson for National Trust Cymru said: "We are aware of a wildfire burning on land neighbouring the Hafod Estate in Mid Wales and have taken the precautionary measure to close the estate to visitors until further notice.

"Our ranger teams are in contact with the local fire service and monitoring the situation closely."

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service also said they were responding to a "large wildfire" in Bannau Brycheiniog, also known as the Brecon Beacons, on Thursday.

It said the affected area covered 20 sq km (7.7 sq miles) and has impacted "forestry, peat, and fine grassland, presenting challenging conditions" for crews.

A spokesperson for National Trust Cymru said they were aware of the fire in the Nant-Ddu area, and that it was spreading, with the car park at Pont ar Daf closed.

"We are asking people to stay away from Pen y Fan and the surrounding area until further notice," they said.