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.

Coillte claims the majority of the blazes over recent days have been due to fires started “in a careless and dangerous way” to burn off vegetation in close proximity to forests.

They have spread rapidly due the extended period of dry weather.

“Coillte reminds people that it is illegal to set fires in growing vegetation from March 1 to August 31 under the wildlife act and appeals to anyone doing it to stop and for everyone to be vigilant when they are out, near or in forests,” said a spokesman.

Over the last few days fire crews, foresters and volunteers from the local communities have been fighting a number of potentially dangerous forest fires in Connemara and gorse fires in counties Kerry and Clare.

“We’ve encountered some very dry weather over the past two weeks which, combined with the very cold winter, adds to the danger of fires spreading quickly,” said Gerard Murphy, managing director of Coillte Forest.

“From Coillte’s point of view it is important that people are extremely vigilant.

“People’s safety is a priority for us and we call on everyone to be aware of the danger and act accordingly.

“Coillte hopes that the good weather conditions will permit and encourage the maximum enjoyment of our forests, but urges people to behave responsibly, be vigilant and help stamp out forest fires.”

Meanwhile, it has been estimated that it has cost €400,000 to fight the rash of wildfires in Co Kerry over the last week.

Kerry’s chief fire officer said the county’s fire service is strained and said there was “a moral obligation” on those people setting mountain and bogland fires to behave responsibly.

So far this month alone, there have been 115 incidents of mountain, bogland and gorse fires.

In most instances more than one crew was called to the scene and in the case of a fire which singed a forest in the Killarney National Park, some nine crews were involved, along with back-up services and water tankers.