Firefighters hoping for rain after forest blazes

FIRE services countrywide are hoping that further heavy rain forecast for today will dampen forests and scrub lands where wild fires have caused havoc over the past month.

The weekend fire outbreaks damaged wildlife and forestry in several counties, but all fires have now been brought under control by the emergency services.

Heavy overnight rain in places, late on Saturday and into Sunday morning, helped firefighters tackling blazes across Connacht, Leinster and Ulster.