FIREFIGHTERS are battling another deliberate grass fire at Twmbarlwm mountain. 

Crews are still working to extinguish an initial blaze, which was first reported at the Cwmcarn site on Saturday morning.

But despite this, a second blaze was started in the same area this morning, the fire service has said.

A spokesman added: "This morning an additional fire was deliberately started in the same area which has added to the ongoing incidents in the surrounding region.

"Deliberate grass fires put lives in danger. It will take the fire and rescue service longer to respond to emergencies like house fires or road traffic collisions if they are tackling a deliberately set grass fire."

Yesterday, Gwent Police announced they believed the initial fire had been started deliberately.

Today they said no arrests have been made.

Helicopters have been assisting firefighters in dealing with the situation since it began, collecting water from nearby lakes and reservoirs, and dropping it onto the flames from the air.

The South Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said in a statement: “Over the past few days the Twmbarlwm and Cwmcarn area has seen a large ongoing grass fire with multiple crews in attendance. 

"Working with our partners we have a well-developed plan in place to deal with the situation.  

"We are working closely with Natural Resources Wales to create fire breaks and to prevent spreading into further forestry areas. 

"Whilst our staff are fully resourced with supplies and people when attending incidents, the service appreciates the kindness shown by individuals and groups and their offers of support and refreshments. 

"Due to the risk associated with fire and smoke we would ask members of the public to please refrain from attending any ongoing incidents to avoid harm or injury.

"Over the past few weeks we have been dealing with a large number of incidents relating to the current weather conditions and our operational Firefighters and Joint Control Room staff are working extremely hard during this challenging time.

"We would like to thank them all for their continued efforts to keep our communities safe. 

"Grass fires impact our communities across Wales and draw fundamental and valuable resources away from our communities, placing unnecessary risk on lives.

"The all Wales multi agency initiative,  Dawns Glaw has been conducting a range of engagement, education and enforcement interventions across Wales.

"The programme has involved raising awareness of the consequences and impact of grass fires to communities across Wales.

"We will continue to work with our communities to reduce the risk and impact of grass fires, however we would remind people to please refrain from the use of any open flame fires or BBQ’s at this time to reduce the risk of fires starting and spreading due to the increased warm and dry weather."

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