As the devastating wildfires continue to rage in the forest, moors and mountains around our village, the Nethy Bridge Community Centre is being used as the control centre for emergency services and for the many brave volunteers who are fighting the fire. This fund has been established to raise funds to support the work being done by everyone involved in tackling the fire by giving them a place to rest, feed and recover between their long, hard shifts.

Any money you donate will be used to provide food and drinks for those brave women and men who are helping fight the fires. In the unlikely event that we raise more money than we need, any funds left over will be directed towards the long process of recovery from this awful fire.

The control centre was moved to Nethy Bridge on Friday 24 July. Since then, we’ve relied on the incredible support of the local (and not-so-local) community to provide food and drinks to cover around 500 meals per day for those involved in fighting the fires. As well as many individuals contributing, small businesses in the area have given generously while losing money due to the fires. This has been heart-warming and humbling in this most difficult time. However, with no end in sight, it’s not sustainable to keep relying on local generosity to maintain the support we’re providing to those at the front line. That’s why we are asking for your help.

We are grateful and fortunate that the fire did not reach the village itself, that no buildings were damaged, and that everyone from the village is safe. However, Nethy Bridge is known as ‘The Forest Village’ and the damage to the forests, moors and mountains which surround the village is devastating and breaks our hearts to see. No doubt there will be a time soon when we can reflect on the damage done and consider how to move forward from there. For now though, we need to focus on getting the fire out, and supporting the many people involved in helping with that.

Finally, a huge thanks once again to everyone who has been involved in fighting the fires and also in supporting the work of the fire fighters. We also appreciate the thousands of kind messages from across the world. If you’re able to make a donation to help us, it would be greatly appreciated.