A FIRE which destroyed a section of pine forest at Gulworthy, overlooking Gunnislake, was initially attended by approximately 80 firefighters and 16 fire appliances. Firefighters from Bere Alston, Tavistock, Princetown, Callington, Yelverton, Camel?s Head, Okehampton, Ivybridge and Launceston, were called to the blaze at 4.10pm last Friday after people from Gunnislake saw smoke and flames rising. But access to the site at Chimney Rock ? which has a drop of 80ft ? and the terrain proved difficult. Police and an ambulance also attended. Sub-officer Colin Shaw from Bere Alston said access had been very difficult from the bottom and the top. ?In the extremely dry conditions the fire had managed to get away before we got hold of it,? he said. ?Because of the difficulty in access the main efforts were to try to stop it spreading further down, and it was brought under control by about 9pm. Crews from Chagford, Okehampton and Modbury were there throughout the night, as it was still alight then. Bere Alston and Tavistock crews were there all day Saturday, putting out hot spots and making sure it did not go further. ?On Sunday Bere Alston crew returned at approximately 11.30am and spent a couple of hours extinguishing remaining pockets of flame,? sub-officer Shaw said. Just over 150 metres square of forest was destroyed by the fire, and the cause is being investigated. l Firefighters were called to two incidents on Sunday. Two pumping appliances and a four-wheel drive vehicle from Tavistock were called to a large bale of hay on fire in a field approximately 250 yards from the road at Jordan Lane, Horrabridge. One jet, a short extension ladder were used, and pitch and drag forks employed to separate and open the bale. The incident took place at 7.15pm. Yelverton crew was called to an accident involving one car on the B3212 at Yelverton at approximately 3.45am. The car had hit a road sign and rolled on its side, resulting in the loss of its fuel. The fire crew was present until the vehicle was recovered due to the risk of fire.
