Scary incident.

[Huggy]

I was just preparing dinner, and OH was in the copse down the lane walking the dog when I smelt burning. Looked out the window and there was a huge cloud of billowing smoke, not 100 yards away, in the copse. I could hear it crackling, and everyone was rushing down our little close to the lane. Huge fire, really scary, but thank goodness, OH had gone the opposite direction. Two fire engines came and got it under control quite quickly. Our house stinks, as of course we had all the windows open, and there's ash on our bedroom floor. I dread to think what the woods will look like - a damn shame, and someone said they saw 3 girls running away from the small fire, before it took hold. Very lucky it didn't spread more, as its tinder dry. It was a beautiful clear evening, and you couldnt see the sky for smoke

 

[Ale]

That's very scary, I'm glad they got it under control quickly it could have been a very different story I'm sure!!

 

[carthorse]

EEK! Thank goodness they got it under control quickly, that could have been very nasty.

 

[Bodshi]

Thank goodness you're all OK. My RI is also a fire fighter and has been to loads of grass fires recently, including one where the paddocks set fire and then it spread to the wooden stable block. Luckily they saved the horses (who were in the field) by breaking down the fencing. Horses and people all ok but field and stables were ruined. They think that was kids too. This extreme weather is scary

 

[Huggy]

It was about 100 yards or less from us, but probably only 39 feet from the houses on the lane

 

[Huggy]

I just hope no animals died- its a nature reserve and there are foxes, badgers, adders and deer. It grew so fast, I just hope they got out.

 

[Kite_Rider]

Glad you are all ok, I remember being on Kefalonia and watching the fire planes on the mountain trying to put out a huge fire, watching it spread at the speed it was going was really scary and it engulfed a couple of houses and crossed the main road! If this is our new normal summer I can see this happening more and more

 

[Jessey]

Oh no, it is so scary when it’s close to home, it’s good they were able to get it under control quickly

It makes me so mad that people are stupid enough to light fires when everything is so tinder dry

We’ve had two huge fires in town this week, both less than half a mile from the yard, 1 at a recycling Center that could be seen from 10 miles away, spewing out black toxic smoke

the other a tractor went up on a forest road right near us

And there’s almost nonstop forest and field fires, it’s so sad.

 

[Huggy]

The damage.....

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

there was a major fire around Fatlips Peel Tower, 5 fire tenders, most of the forest destroyed. Cause by those who know believe idiot wild campers having a bbq. It stands right on the top of a huge hill, very rough terrain, an absolute miracle that the entire area wasn't wiped out as everything is tinder dry

 

[Kite_Rider]

there was a major fire around Fatlips Peel Tower, 5 fire tenders, most of the forest destroyed. Cause by those who know believe idiot wild campers having a bbq. It stands right on the top of a huge hill, very rough terrain, an absolute miracle that the entire area wasn't wiped out as everything is tinder dry

View attachment 112961

Maybe we will adopt the Greek plan and ban fires/bbqs from May to October, although can’t imagine anyone here adhering to that!

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

Maybe we will adopt the Greek plan and ban fires/bbqs from May to October, although can’t imagine anyone here adhering to that!

no chance they are just idiots, they leave their rubbish behind, there are dreadful issues at places like Loch Lomond but this tower is a defensive tower so it was built up really really high, a real landmark, so a fire spreading from there could have caused real devastation.

 

[Huggy]

This is just a small nature reserve, and although the area destroyed is relatively small, it's probably about a quarter of the whole thing. I miscalculated the distance from the houses on the lane - it was about 20 ft from their front gardens.

 

[horseandgoatmom]

We are turning into a society of morons.

There is a special place in HELL for kids that start fires....and they won't get There soon enough to suit me.

Adults w camp fires....BBQ... etc are no better.

They want a fire and they will have it.

 

[chunky monkey]

They light them deliberately round here. Usually the kids lighting the gorse.

Our hill still looks green here. But now theyve stopped grazing the cattle on it during the summer. The thatch will build up if its not eaten down over the winter. Give it a couple of year of it getting a mat of dead grass and it will be back to large areas going up in summer round here.
Whilst we were grazing it all year round if the gorse was set light to the fires were sort of contained to just the gorse as the grass was kept short by the grazing so it stopped any spread. Now it will just spread. It will be more risky at the end of August, September when the grass really starts to die back and goes brown here.

My hay barn which is stacked with 1100 bales is literally right next to the hill. Dry stone wall and footpath between but that wont stop a fire. The council have not cleared any of the scrub thats now hanging over the wall. Theres a thick 20ft jungle of scrub and brambles encroaching over the footpath and long grass witing to go up. Im dreading it. One spark and that will be our barn gone again. The last barn fire we had we know was started deliberately from people entering our yard in the middle of winter. Was soul destroying watching it burn to the ground. I dont ever want to go through it again. We will in die course ask the council to clear there rubbish to provide a safety zone to protect our property. Whether they will act is another matter.

 

[Trewsers]

They light them deliberately round here. Usually the kids lighting the gorse.

Our hill still looks green here. But now theyve stopped grazing the cattle on it during the summer. The thatch will build up if its not eaten down over the winter. Give it a couple of year of it getting a mat of dead grass and it will be back to large areas going up in summer round here.
Whilst we were grazing it all year round if the gorse was set light to the fires were sort of contained to just the gorse as the grass was kept short by the grazing so it stopped any spread. Now it will just spread. It will be more risky at the end of August, September when the grass really starts to die back and goes brown here.

My hay barn which is stacked with 1100 bales is literally right next to the hill. Dry stone wall and footpath between but that wont stop a fire. The council have not cleared any of the scrub thats now hanging over the wall. Theres a thick 20ft jungle of scrub and brambles encroaching over the footpath and long grass witing to go up. Im dreading it. One spark and that will be our barn gone again. The last barn fire we had we know was started deliberately from people entering our yard in the middle of winter. Was soul destroying watching it burn to the ground. I dont ever want to go through it again. We will in die course ask the council to clear there rubbish to provide a safety zone to protect our property. Whether they will act is another matter.

Omg that's dreadful, someone actually came onto your yard?! Jeez. How awful. I hope the council do clear the rubbish and make it safer for you.

 

[chunky monkey]

Yes middle of December 10pm at night. Firebrigade said could it be spontaneous combustion. We said no way. The hay had been sitting there since it was made in the july. No leaks on the barn. We had only just started using bales for winter feed. We had to buy in hay that year. Being we live at the end of a dead end road we hear vehicles that come up the road.
The awful thing was a year later almost to the day we had our hay rick set light to in the yard. We still hadnt rebuilt the barn so the hay we made the next summer was stacked the other end of the yard under tarpaulins. That would have been more likely to spontaneous combustion sitting under the tarps, except for the fact that it was 10pm at night, all most a year to the day, we heard a vehicle and they left the evidence of what theyd brought with them to help light the fire.

You can imagine you start to get paranoid about every vehicle you hear that comes up the road in the middle of the night.

 

[Trewsers]

Yes middle of December 10pm at night. Firebrigade said could it be spontaneous combustion. We said no way. The hay had been sitting there since it was made in the july. No leaks on the barn. We had only just started using bales for winter feed. We had to buy in hay that year. Being we live at the end of a dead end road we hear vehicles that come up the road.
The awful thing was a year later almost to the day we had our hay rick set light to in the yard. We still hadnt rebuilt the barn so the hay we made the next summer was stacked the other end of the yard under tarpaulins. That would have been more likely to spontaneous combustion sitting under the tarps, except for the fact that it was 10pm at night, all most a year to the day, we heard a vehicle and they left the evidence of what theyd brought with them to help light the fire.

You can imagine you start to get paranoid about every vehicle you hear that comes up the road in the middle of the night.

Yes I'd have gotten paranoid. Our old house was two miles down a private road and a dead end. I used to have ears like a bat at night listening for stuff. Worst thing is when you hear an engine but can't see any headlamps. Then you know it's someone scoping out or up to no good.

 

[Huggy]

Walked Alfie this evening, and the fire brigade are still damping it down. The suspicion is still that it was some girls. Apparently there were 6 engines there, so they really got it under control pretty quick. I think the worry was that it was so close to the houses.

 

[Huggy]

Shows how close to the houses it got