With Ardentinny temperatures reaching some 26C, a forest fire was narrowly avoided above Sandy Beach yesterday thanks to the quick action of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue.
The alarm was raised by a local resident who alerted emergency services just after 3pm. Two fire appliances from Dunoon were on the scene within 20 minutes and extinguished the blaze which mainly affected scrub in the forest above the beach. The fire tenders remained at the scene for several hours dousing the blackened terrain.
We understand that the water supply to the beach toilets and bowling club was also cut. The beach picnic area was packed at the time with many families camped out over the weekend. On Sunday afternoon a fire service appliance returned to the scene and firefighters again doused the area (see video below).
Visitors are reminded to take special care throughout the hot weather and to ensure that barbecues and cigarettes are extinguished properly and glass bottles are disposed of carefully.
