Police are investigating after a series of fires were lit on tinder dry grass land, got out of control and threatened to spread to nearby homes in South Bristol last night.
Firefighters said they were ‘extremely concerned’ at what happened on the Northern Slopes between Knowle West and Bedminster on Friday evening, where they dealt with a huge blaze.
Residents of Glyn Vale and Lurgan Walk in Knowle West and Sidmouth Walk in Bedminster came out of their homes as the flames spread across the tinder dry grass and wooded area of the nature reserve on the slopes.
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Bristol’s stretched fire services rushed to attend - the local crews from Bedminster and Temple were already on another call so crews from Southmead and Patchway travelled across the city to get there, and spent an hour putting out what was an inferno that could be seen across Bristol at one stage.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service duty group commander Dave Hodges said the blaze was a big one.
“We were first called to the location off Kingswear Road at 9.19pm to reports of a fire and found it already well alight,” he said. “The crews used a combination of hose reels, beaters and drag forks to put out the blaze and spent an hour at the location. What was worrying to the crews on the ground was that there were multiple seats of fire, and that it was a case of deliberate ignition. That's quite concerning to us, because someone has gone along the Northern Slopes setting a series of fires on very dry grass and trees.
“Given the conditions at the moment, a fire like this can spread extremely quickly - all it needs is a bit of wind and it can start to affect fences and gardens and then people’s houses.
“The police did attend and they will be following this up,” he added.
The fire is the latest in a series of blazes on Bristol’s tinder dry open spaces that have gone from green to brown under near-drought conditions.
There have been multiple fires in locations like Stoke Park, The Downs, Manor Woods Valley and in Southmead, with many started by people having disposable barbecues on very dry grass.
The fire on the Northern Slopes is not thought to be the result of disposable barbecues - it started too late and in too many different spots along the slopes behind Glyn Vale.
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