A couple who watched in fear as a wildfire raced down a mountainside towards their home have said they worry the threat could get worse with climate change.
Fire crews prevented the flames from reaching Alison and Ian Jones' house backing onto the mountain above Treorchy in Rhondda Cynon Taf last month, but the close call has left them wondering how bad it could get.
"The fires in Los Angeles and Spain have been horrendous," Ian said. "We're not on that scale, but who knows what's coming?"
Prof Stefan Doerr, head of Swansea University's Centre for Wildfire Research (CWR), said milder weather in the coming decades means "more fires and longer fire seasons".
A mild winter allowing for more foliage growth followed by spring droughts has made this year particularly bad for wildfires, he added.
Firefighters have had to hold back raging wildfires from properties across Wales this week, with one Ceredigion councillor describing firefighters as being "on their knees".
Mr Jones said they were "concerned every year" because of mountain fires coming down to the edge of Treorchy, but a blaze on 21 March "got a little bit close to the house".
His biggest fear, he said, was for the safety of the firefighters.
"They put their lives on the line every time they go up there," said Mr Jones, who decided to fell a tree close his roof after the fire.
"I don't know where the solution is, but we've been here 20-odd years and we have had fires [in the area] every year."
His wife Alison, who was home alone when the flames came close, said she has trust in the system.
"Most of the firemen know the area so well and they know how to manage it."
Wildfires also make crews less able respond to a property fire or a road crash.
But the workload and danger for fires crews seems to be getting worse.
With no major wildfires in Wales last year, Prof Doerr said the fields and mountains have had "a lot of vegetation growth".
Together with the spring drought it "makes things pretty bad" this year, he added.
