Small fire this time, but don’t hesitate to call – firefighters
ISLANDERS should not hesitate to call out the Fire & Rescue Service if they spot smoke on the cliffs, after a smouldering fire spread under the gorse canopy at Le Gouffre yesterday.
Jane Shales was walking about half-a-mile west of Le Gouffre on the cliff path with her visiting aunt, Pam Chadwick, when they spotted smoke coming from the landward-side undergrowth beside the path.
She said she initially thought that a farmer might be having a bonfire, but as they walked along the path, she started to hear crackling coming from the undergrowth.
‘We could see more smoke and ash,’ Ms Shales said.
‘So we went up a path through the undergrowth and then we saw the fire.’
She called 999 and described the location, which was relatively close to where the cliff path joins Sous Les Lorenches.
Red watch acting crew commander Alan Hamon said the fire had largely died down by the time they arrived, but it was still smouldering.
Despite this, he said there was still a risk it could have spread if left untreated.
‘We are damping down,’ he said.
‘We need to make sure it is not creeping through the undergrowth.’
Due to the isolation of the location, firefighters initially were carrying backpacks of water to the scene, but fortunately they were later able to get a Land Rover to the scene through a field to help with damping down.
Initially it was thought the fire had only affected an area of two metres by two metres.
But investigations soon found the fire had spread several metres from a field. But due to the thick gorse canopy, had not been visible.
He said in total an area of 10 metres by 20 metres was affected.
‘It was all out, but we have to be careful,’ he said.
‘It is dry and the foliage might catch in the sun and then wind will accelerate it.’
There is a thick, dry layer of mulch on the surface of the cliffs edges, which could see a fire spread quickly at ground level if left untreated, meaning that even small fires must be taken seriously.
Mr Hamon said Ms Shales did the right thing calling in the emergency services.
It is unclear what caused the blaze, but it could have been something small, like sunlight being magnified through broken glass.
The incident comes as the islands head towards a very hot weekend, with temperatures expected to hit the high 20s over the next few days.
The island has seen lower than average rainfall so far this year and just 19mm of rain has fallen so far in June, against an expected average of 27mm.
