Cafe evacuated as Horseshoe Pass blaze continues
A cafe near to a large fire at a tourist hot spot has been evacuated as the blaze moves into its second week.
The fire and smoke can be seen from miles around, and roads on the Horseshoe Pass are still closed.
And on Saturday the Ponderosa Cafe, popular with bikers and tourists had to be evacuated.
Twitter user Lesley Kenton posted pictures of the skies above blaze:
The Ponderosa closed on Saturday morning, with the owners posted on social media: "The cafe will be closed today, the main road is still closed in both directions and the police have put road blocks in place to try to ensure people stay away from the fire.
"The smoke is very thick and acrid the fire is still active however the firemen are pushing it back in areas.
"Please can people avoid the area it is dangerous."
Then late on Saturday evening, the emergency services informed the owners that they needed to evacuate the building.
They thanked the emergency services for their help, and said: "The Ponderosa has been evacuated due to fire and smoke.
"Can I please just take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful emergency services who are currently battling this menace."
Crews have been battling the fire, that has ignited several times over the past week.
The owners of the cafe, who have been in charge for 35 years also posted on social media saying they have never seen anything like this since they have been there.
They posted: "Well I can say I have never seen anything quite like this in my thirty five years at the Ponderosa, and to think the fire may have been deliberate astounds and infuriates me."
