"Deliberate" bonfires spark two blazes in St. Brelade

Wednesday 25 July 2018

Jersey's fire service were called out to St. Brelade's Bay and Ouaisne Bay last night to tackle grassland and gorse fires. In both cases, they said the fires had been caused by deliberate bonfires.

Islanders are being asked not to light up any bonfires, as they spread easily and quickly get out of control, while the surrounding land is so dry during the current hot weather.

The first call came at 21:15 from islanders in St. Brelade who said they could see a fire between St. Brelade's Bay and Ouaisne. 

Firefighters searched the headland and found two separate bonfires, which had been lit in disused Occupation gun emplacements. Although they were both contained, glowing embers had fallen in the surrounding scrubland. The fires were put out using shovels of earth and a fire extinguisher.

At around 23:20, the fire service returned to the same area for another fire, caused by another bonfire, which had spread to the surrounding gorse and grass.

Fire crews laid around 400m of water hoses to tackle the fire and keep the area damp. The whole intervention took two hours.

Watch Commander Andy Gallie said: “During this period of exceptionally dry weather, Jersey Fire and Rescue advise against the lighting of bonfires. It’s very easy for bonfires to spread and rapidly gat out of control, with the potential to cause extensive damage to Jersey’s natural environment and put Jersey Fire and Rescue’s finite resources under strain.”