Major incident as large island fire breaks out

A fire which broke out on Little Sark was declared a major incident before being brought under control.

Fire crews and residents were involved in tackling the blaze on the Channel Island after it broke out on Friday morning. It was declared a major incident after emergency services worked on getting it under control for more than four hours.

The fire service confirmed it was a gorse fire which covered about 20,000 sq m (215,000 sq ft) which was restricted to cliff land and no properties were affected.

The States of Guernsey said firefighters would be there overnight to dampen down the scene.

Little Sark is a peninsula of the island of Sark and is joined to the rest of the island by an isthmus called La Coupée.

The island, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, has a population of about 500, and was designated as the world's first dark sky island by the International Dark-sky Association, recognising its lack of light pollution, in 2011.

Sark Fire & Rescue Service, Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service, Ambulance & Rescue Service Guernsey said in a joint statement that firefighters were deployed to assist a "multi-agency response in tackling a gorse fire on Little Sark, which started this morning".

It said five firefighters from Guernsey were injured shortly after arriving in Sark, while travelling to assist at the scene, where they were assessed by a doctor and first responders as having non-life threating injuries.

Guernsey Ambulance & Rescue supported with the response, sending the Flying Christine III to Sark with a medical crew and incident officer on board, and the firefighters were transferred to Guernsey's emergency department via the marine ambulance for further treatment.

The joint statement added: "Additional firefighters have been deployed to Sark on board the Flying Christine III to maintain the emergency response.

It added Guernsey Harbours' workboat Sarnia was also on scene and the Guernsey Coastguard drone unit was also deployed.

"The current north/north-easterly wind direction means that the fire is not expected to spread as it is blowing out to sea," it said.

"We would like to thank the emergency services, volunteers and island community for their support and assistance during this challenging incident."

Kevin , chief fire officer at Sark Fire and Rescue Service, said earlier it was the largest fire he had ever seen in Sark and that a "massive plume of white smoke" could be seen coming from the island.

He added that crews "managed to keep it away from two houses".

Smoke from the blaze could also be seen far off the island, including on east coast the island of Guernsey.

Adams said he expected it was "going to need dampening down for ages and ages - it's going to be days."

Dr Nicola Brink, director of Public Health, said: "While the fire in Sark is primarily an environmental and emergency response incident, wildfire smoke can pose a public health risk, particularly for older adults, young children, pregnant women and people with heart or lung conditions.

"Public Health is monitoring the situation and advises islanders to follow official guidance and minimise smoke exposure if air quality deteriorates."

She said this was because wildfire smoke contained fine particulate matter and other pollutants that could travel long distances and affect communities far from the fire itself.

She said exposure could cause coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath, asthma exacerbations as well eye, nose and throat irritation.

Brink advised anyone who felt they were being affected by the smoke and stay indoors and close blinds and curtains to block direct sunlight to keep their home cool in the hot weather.

Phil Perree, a resident of Little Sark, said: "It just all happened so quickly and things seemed to just get out of hand.

"I'm very grateful to all the Sark Fire Brigade and the guys from Guernsey coming over to help."

He added the speed in which the fire spread was "so frightening... with it so dry, it's just a whole tinderbox".

Alex Clarke, from Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service, said one of the challenges faced by fire crews was getting over to the island.

"We worked with Sark shipping, who allowed us to use the Sark Viking... to get across with our kit and we use the tractor and trailer to then get across," he said.

"The main challenge is being water throughout the day. They don't have any hydrants like you would see in normal Channel Islands in the roads outside your houses and properties.

"It was all brought in by trailer or water bowser, so that was particularly tricky."

Clarke said there was an unfortunate accident involving a tractor and trailer which injured five members of the crew.

He said: "I'm pleased to report there's no life-threatening injuries in any of our crew and they're expected to make a swift recovery."

He added: "Our tactical plan due to the lack of water was to prevent it spreading any further along the cliffs and endangering any nearby property.

"The fire... was burning quite fiercely. That was always going to happen due to the wind, but we just didn't want it to spread any further; so we've achieved that objective, so I'm happy with that."

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