Wildlife flees in terror after arsonists set fire to nature reserve
Wild animals are feared to have died in Cornwall after a huge gorse fire broke out on a nature reserve.
Witnesses who saw the blaze on Bartinney Nature Reserve, in Penzance, described seeing hordes of wildlife ‘fleeing in terror’. The blaze is being treated as arson, Devon and Cornwall Police said.
Nearby resident Martin Cavell said: ‘I am disgusted by the whole thing. It is a nature reserve. I witnessed skylarks, linnets, dunnocks, warblers and a short-eared owl all fleeing in terror and also saw voles escaping.
‘Many adders and small mammals would have gone to ground and would have perished. The Wildlife Trust officer was there and he was devastated at what he saw.
‘A fireman told me the fire started [on Sunday night]. Fire crews were in attendance, but in truth there is little they can do in these winds but concentrate on protecting homes. Whoever started this is, at best, irresponsible.
‘Nature will reclaim it in a few years, that is true, but for now this wildlife habitat is barren.’
Nearly 50 firefighters from St Just, Penzance, St Ives, Perranporth and Helston battled the blaze on Monday. The fire service was inundated with calls as the blaze could be seen as by anyone within the Lands End vicinity.
A spokesperson for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that ‘five appliances, two light support vehicles and a water carrier’ were at the scene. They first arrived at the site at 7am on Monday.
The fire comes just days after emergency services issued a bank holiday warning following a series of unexpected wildfires in Bodmin, Dartmoor and Exmoor.
An email stated that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Fire Service had increased the risk of wildfires across the region.
It said: ‘A yellow warning has been issued by the Natural Hazards Partnership that covers the next five days. The Met Office Fire Severity Index rises to “High” on Thursday. We are returning to drier conditions as we move into April.’
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