Fires destroy 1,500 acres of forestry over the last week

THE recent spate of gorse and forest fires has burned down 1,500 acres of forest in the last week alone, Coillte claimed yesterday.

The commercial forestry firm revealed the extent of the problem as firefighters in Galway were fighting the latest blaze in Connemara.

That fire started in Moycullen and spread to a mountainous area late on Thursday night.