Solva homes threatened as 40 crews tackle gorse fire

Around 40 firefighters have spent the night tackling a large hill fire in Pembrokeshire.

Residents living in High Street, Solva, were asked to leave their homes as the gorse blaze, covering three hectares, threatened to reach their properties.

Trees and grass near some of the houses in the street were doused with water as a precaution but the fire was put out before spreading that far.

Emergency services received the call at 2325 BST on Monday.

"The conditions of the incident at the incident were very challenging for the crews with steep terrain and strong winds," said Mid and West Wales fire service incident commander group manager Steve Bryant.

"Our fire fighters adapted well to these conditions and worked hard to deal with the incident safely."

At its peak, crews from St David's, Fishguard, Cardigan, Haverfordwest, Milford Haven and specialist units from Pembroke Dock and Carmarthen were at the scene.

Five appliances along with a high volume pump, an environment protection unit, a water bowser and a new welfare unit were in use.

A water tower with a hose reel jet was used near homes to make sure they were not affected by the fire.

There are still four appliances at the scene on Tuesday morning damping down what is left of the grass and gorse.