Crackdown after rise in forest fires

STATE agencies have come together to crack down on forest fires after a trebling of fires last year.

A number of people face criminal prosecution for deliberately setting such fires and leaving them burn out of control.

As well as the main problem of traditional land burning by farmers, State agencies report a rise in domestic and industrial dumping in forests, some of which is subsequently set alight.

Up to five people are thought to have died as a result of forest fires in the last four to five years.

As the land burning season for farmers looms, the gardaí, the Fire Service and the State’s forestry agency Coillte have come together to try and tackle a worsening problem.

Superintendent Fergus Healy of Crime Policy and Administration said there were 254 fires in 2010, destroying 782 hectares of Coillte land, costing the State company around €3.5m.

Fires either spread from adjoining private lands which are burned by farmers to clear gorse and other scrub land for grazing, or are started deliberately.

“Gardaí want to emphasise the threat that land and forest fires present to people’s lives and property,” said Supt Healy.

“It is the responsibility of every member of the community, particularly those living near wooded areas, to comply with the legislation and undertake burning in a controlled manner.”

He said the penalties for breaches of the legislation were €635 for a first offence, €1,270 for a second offence and €1,900 for a third or subsequent offence.

Coillte eastern regional director John O’Sullivan said they were working closely with gardaí in relation to their investigation into fires. “We have a couple of cases at a pretty advanced stage in relation to pending prosecutions,” he said.

However, he said the difficulty in such cases was that evidence of seeing the person who lit the fire was required. “You visibly have to make contact which is extremely difficult, as they are lit either early in morning or in evening.”

He said the traditional burning of gorse was the main cause of fires, but said “malicious burning” or dumped waste was an increasing problem.

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