Snowdonia, North Wales...'Crazy' tourists abandon still-lit BBQ with burning burgers at fire-risk beauty!

Selfish isn't the word. Cleary brain dead, as to all of the fires raging in the UK. I hope they left a receipt for their Barbeque!

Visitors to a fire-risk beauty spot in Snowdonia were astonished to discover an abandoned BBQ that was still alight. Several burgers were being grilled but they were “beyond edible” having been left to cook for some time.

The burning BBQ was left at Llyn Geirionydd, a popular picnic spot that has been the focus of wild camping concerns in the Conwy Valley. The lake lies in Gwydir Forest Park where numerous signs have been erected warning of the dangers of fire.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service has warned of a “high risk of accidental fires” from BBQs this summer. Despite some unsettled weather since last week’s record-breaking heatwave, rainfall has been below average and the dry spell is expected to continue through August.

Mum Gemma Whittingham, from nearby Llanrwst, found the abandoned BBQ under trees next to the lake car park. She issued a heads-up on Facebook in case someone had neglected to remove it.

“Think someone forgot something up the lake,” she wrote. “Still burning with burgers on it, no one in sight.”

View of the car park at Llyn Geirionydd with signs warning against fires and overnight stays (Image: Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)

With help from her children, Gemma extinguished the BBQ and planned to retrieve it the following day. She told North Wales Live: “I always try and pick up any litter we find but I didn’t want a hot BBQ in my car!

“It was still smoking and had glowing embers. The burgers were charcoal, so they must have been left a while.

“Piles of burnt charcoal had also been just left on rocks by the edge of the lake. There was one other car there but it had followed us up – there was no one else around.

“Myself and my children put it out. Luckily, it had just started raining. If 

Gemma returned the next day but by then it had been removed. She was applauded for her intervention but her discovery left local people aghast. “Omg fire waiting to happen, what’s wrong with these people?” said one person in response to her Facebook post.

Another added: “Crazy, signs everywhere about no BBQs due to forest fire risk. Typical folk-from-the-city behavior.”

Last year police patrols were stepped up in the area amid concerns over wild camping, fly-parking, littering, and fires. Conwy Council blocked off laybys and installed extra signage, and last autumn, a tourism task group was set up by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which manages Gwydir Forest.

But illicit activities have continued this summer. Earlier this month the appearance of a huge tent by Llyn Geirionydd provoked local anger amid local concerns the restrictions are being routinely ignored.

Signs in Gwydir Forest do not explicitly ban BBQs but instead, warn visitors not to light open fires. One of the biggest fires in the forest occurred in 1938 when some 500 acres of trees were destroyed.

Previously, NRW’s Richard Owen urged visitors to take extra care to protect special places like Llyn Geirionydd. He said: “People don’t realize how easy it is for a rogue ember from a barbecue or bonfire to develop into something bigger.

“Take a picnic instead of a barbecue to minimize the risk of fire. If people ignore this advice, I would urge them to make absolutely sure it is extinguished when they have finished cooking and to dispose of it properly by taking it home.”

From...https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/crazy-visitors-abandon-still-lit-24605882