Suspected Arson Burns Gorse & Moorland at Carn Above Pendeen Church

Suspected arson burns gorse and Moorland at Carn above Pendeen Church and is predicted to smoulder and burn for days.

Yesterday, Saturday 4 August, just after 12:30 p.m. I saw a fire burning across the Carn above Pendeen Church. I checked with locals and it had been called in to the Fire Service and very soon after the first crews were arriving. Our St Just fire fighters needed the help of teams from Penzance and St Ives to get it under control but this morning it smoulders on.

I rang Fire Critical control today to ensure they knew it was still smouldering and that in fact, a patch still had flames. They had already had several calls from concerned locals and told me it was likely to take several days to burn itself out. A crew had checked it this morning but, at this stage, they did not assess they needed to re-establish crews up there.

The smell of fire is never pleasant and now home, I can smell it on me.

I have unconfirmed reports that the Police have made an arrest for suspected arson but they are appealing for witnesses who might have been walking up there after midday yesterday. So, if you know of holiday makers or locals that were up there, ask them to call Devon & Cornwall Police or email 101@dc.police.uk, quoting incident log 481 of 4/8/18.