Mountains blaze despite appeal not to set gorse fires
Firefighters were said to be under severe pressure as they dealt with fires in different parts of the county.
Five fire tenders from Killarney, Abbeyfeale, Tralee and Castleisland attended a large fire which threatened forestry at Knockatee, in the Cordal area, near Castleisland, until late Saturday night.
Kerry fire service personnel also attended a gorse fire between Tralee and Castlemaine, in the area known locally as the Short Mountain.
#Kenmare Bay at sunset. Those are gorse fires at the top right. You know, just to let you know you're in #Kerry pic.twitter.com/SYNtc0amb0
— Jerry O'Sullivan (@jerosullivanRK) April 19, 2015
Fires on the hillside between Inch and Castlemaine, in the Dingle Peninsula, threatened a number of homes and fire personnel from Tralee and Killarney worked through the night to bring the blaze under control.
A spokesperson for Kerry fire service said they have been dealing with a number of fires since Friday, including some in Tuosist and Kenmare. The fires were brought under control, but some were still smouldering yesterday.
Pointing out that dry weather exacerbated conditions, the fire service appealed to people to act responsibly for the safety of others and not to set fires in the wild.
The service is in constant contact with the gardaí in an effort to trace those responsible. The Wildlife Act bans such fires from March 1 to August 31.
Last week, thousands of acres in Killarney National Park and surrounding areas were damaged by fires, some of which were started maliciously, investigating gardaí believe.
At one stage, an Air Corp helicopter was brought in to help extinguish a fire in the park, near Ladies’ View, well-known scenic landmark. The helicopter doused the flames with water from the Upper Lake, Killarney.
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