Fire Service tackles wild fires in Bernera

The recent dry weather in the Western Isles has meant the scourge of moorland wildfires has raised its head once more with three separate fires breaking out in Harris.
Image by SFRS at the Bernera fire.Image by SFRS at the Bernera fire.
Image by SFRS at the Bernera fire.

News of the fires was reported on Tuesday, April 9th, as fire crews from Stornoway, Scalpay, Great Bernera and Shawbost mobilised to tackle the blazes on the Isle of Bernera.

The local team at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) tweeted last night : ‘Crews from Isles of Lewis and Harris WI been working extremely hard today and into this evening tackling three seperate wild fires protecting property and limiting further spread.’

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The blazes also impacted on the Islands’ power supply with the electricity supply out from around 8pm. Many homes recovered power at 9pm, but full restoration of electricity supplies to homes across Lewis and Harris continued throughout the evening.

A spokesperson for Scottish and Southern Electricity explained that the fire service had requested that the live electricity supply running through the high voltage overhead cable in the area be switched off for safety reasons.

Western Isles Police also reported yesterday (Tuesday) that fire appliances were also attending a grass fire on the Carloway side of the Pentland road.