Dartmoor: Fire lights up night sky near Tavistock

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One fire stands at 750 metres with 12 fire engines and 60 crew members battling the flames as dramatic footage shows the flames lighting up the night sky. Footage of the fire near Tungsten West Mine in Hemerdon shows the extent of the blaze and the task of extinguishing it, with an eye witness saying it appeared to be growing, according to Plymouth Live.

A separate blaze has broken out at Mary Tavy with police and mountain rescue teams having set up at Brentor Road to deal with the incident.

Fire crews were notified about reports of a fire at 4.15pm and are now attempting to contain the blazes in the area using fire beaters and wild fire vehicles.

A spokesperson for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue confirmed that the aim was to prevent the spread of the fire beyond the A386.

They said: “We have 12 fire appliances there at the moment plus special appliances. There’s a fire front of about 750 metres.

“Firefighters are using fire beaters and wild fire vehicles to prevent it spreading and crossing the A386. The A386 is closed in that area.

“There are a number of controlled fires burns going up on Dartmoor but this one has been going since about 4.15pm initially.

“They’ve declared a major incident now.”

On Twitter, a Devon County council spokesperson advised drivers to expect delays in the area and seek alternative routes where possible. 

They said: “The police have requested a full road closure with diversions on the A386 north of Mary Tavy due to a gorse fire.

“Expect delays and find an alternative route where possible.”

A Devon police officer APS Symmonds based at Tavistock police station said the blaze had started as a result of a controlled fire that had got out of control.

He said: “We’ve had a call out this afternoon to a fire up on the moors in close proximity to the A386, a result of swaling which has gone out of control. Obviously fire has been in attendance and they’ve asked us to come down and assist. 

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“We have asked for assistance from some of our other partner agencies should we need it which is no longer needed at this stage. We work quite closely with search and rescue for a number of different reasons.

“One of those is if we are having to think about the possibilities of mass evacuation from nearby areas if there is a risk to the public. Then we will quite often ask them to come and assist us in doing that as obviously our police numbers are quite limited.

“Thankfully on this occasion they are not going to be needed.”

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