Eighty firefighters tackled a huge blaze at the Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare on Monday morning (July 28th) which was clearly visible from across the Burnham-On-Sea area.
Black smoke and flames billowed into the sky which were visible from as far away as Gloucestershire and North Devon as the flames completely destroyed the end of the pier.
Burnham-On-Sea’s pier manager, Louise Parkin, who knows the Weston pier owners Kerry and Michelle Michaels very well, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “My heart goes out to them both.”
“I was absolutely devastated to hear about the news this morning. It’s horrific for them. They took on the pier to put someting back into Weston and this has happened. It’s horrific. This will be bad for Weston and bad for tourism in the south west.”
Two fire engines from Burnham-On-Sea travelled to Weston to be on standby in case they were needed.
The blaze was clearly visible from Brean Down, as shown in this photo from Dave West
Smoke from the fire was seen from Burnham seafront above the town’s pier
Dave Snook took this shot of the start of the blaze on his way into work at Isleport in Highbridge
Highbridge man Barry Gorman took this incredible shot of the blaze at its height
The scene from the centre of Brean
Herd the news? Everyone wanted a vantage point
The blaze quickly spread across the end of the pier
Fire crews damped down the scene throughout Monday
A long line of fire engines outside the pier
A mangled mass of wreckage now lies at the end of the pier
Video coverage of the fire taken from Brean Down and Weston seafront
