Dramatic pictures capture mountain fire above Welsh town as 20 homes evacuated

Twenty homes have been evacuated as firefighters tackle a huge mountain blaze which has engulfed an area above the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in north Wales.

The alarm was raised around 8.30pm on Monday after flames were spotted at Llechwedd slate quarry, a popular tourist attraction which now produces slate on a more minor scale than it previously did.

Dramatic images captured the scale of the blaze. Local police closed a main road through the town as the mountain which towers above it burned.

On Tuesday morning, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said crews were still working to tame the fire but it remained out of control.

Four fire engines and an aerial ladder platform have been in use in an effort to dampen the flames.

Local people posted images on social media of the fire as it burned through the night. One wrote: "Not what you want to see from your landing window at 03:30. Hills above Blaenau Ffestiniog are ablaze!"

North Wales Police said in a tweet: “From the roundabout in Blaenau Ffestiniog to McColls on Church Street due to Fire on the mountain.

“Diversions in place but please avoid the area if possible.”

The town of Blaenau Ffestiniog was developed in the 19th century to support the slate quarrying at several sites in the area, most of which have now closed.

The fire comes just days after Wales experienced its hottest Easter weekend on record. Temperatures soared to 23.4C in parts of the country.