The Welsh Government must step in to help restore the significant damage to the landscape caused by the Blaenavon wildfire and help farmers through the crisis according to one Senedd Member.

Laura Anne Jones MS, who is one of the Reform UK MSs for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, said the incident has to be declared as a national emergency and the Welsh Government needs to step up its response to the situation. While praising the efforts of emergency services to bring the blaze under control, Ms Jones says lessons must be learned about how to prevent such an incident from happening again.

“This fire is still burning beneath the peat and the damage is enormous. Local common land farmers have worked around the clock alongside our firefighters, using their own machinery, knowledge and experience to protect livestock, homes, wildlife and this precious landscape,” she said.

“They have been absolutely outstanding, and we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”

“Now the priority must be recovering the common. The Welsh Government must provide urgent support to help farmers feed their livestock and restore the mountain. We also need to learn the lessons from this disaster. The complete lack of fire breaks and fire ponds, the untamed mass of bracken and restrictions on common sense land management have all made fires like this harder to contain. Better prevention must now become the priority.”

Ms Jones continued by justifying her calls for a national emergency to be declared.

“This is part of a World Heritage Site and a triple SSSI, but it is also a working agricultural landscape that supports local farming families,” she continued.

“The damage to the land, drainage and peat will have long-term consequences, including concerns about flooding and erosion. The commons across the Blaenavon mountains are nationally important and that the wildfire should be treated as a national emergency.”