Smoke from Slievenamon wildfire drifts to Cork city as crews battle major blaze

Air Corps and ground crews continue efforts to contain the blaze as residents are warned about smoke and fire risks

Emergency services remain at the scene of a fire on Slievenamon in County Tipperary this morning as efforts continue to battle what was described as a “very large” blaze. Picture credit: Cllr Michael Brennan Facebook

Firefighters are spending a fourth day tackling a “significant” and large mountain wildfire in Co Tipperary which has spread to an adjoining forest, with the smell of smoke reported as far away as Cork city.

Tipperary Fire and Rescue Service has been working to extinguish the fire in the Slievenamon area, near Clonmel, since it broke out on Monday.

The Air Corps has provided aerial support, including dropping buckets of water on the flames in an effort to prevent the fire from spreading.

On Wednesday afternoon, Tipperary County Council said a change in wind direction caused the blaze to spread into an adjoining Coillte forest, prompting the deployment of additional resources.

Public urged to stay away

Pat Neville, communications manager at Coillte, said it had “progressed significantly through the forest yesterday night, despite the best efforts of crews on the ground supported by a helicopter”.

"The roads are narrow up there, and the terrain. So we're asking people to stay away from the area to keep the roads free to allow access for the emergency services and firefighting crews to access the site," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Thursday.

He said the “immediate focus” is on containing the fire as “quickly and as safely as possible”, adding it is “too early” to assess the damage to the forest.

Mr Neville said while it is “quite a spectacle” he urged the public not to approach the area at all.

"Give space and room and particularly access to the firefighting crews and the emergency services to attend the blaze," he said. 

“Also as well to ask people not to fly any drones in the area, as helicopters will again be active today in helping to contain the blaze,” Mr Neville said.

On Wednesday, Tipperary County Council said while there is no immediate threat to life “the situation remains dynamic”, and fire crews are in contact with “a limited number” of residents and property owners.

“The protection of public safety and property remains the primary consideration for everyone involved in the response, and Tipperary Fire Service is continually assessing the risks to nearby properties and communities, and they'll deploy resources accordingly.” 

Community rallies to help

Mr Neville thanked local communities for supporting the fire and emergency services by providing refreshments. He also expressed frustration that fires such as this continue to occur.

He said “none of these fires start naturally in Ireland” and pointed to the status orange high fire risk warning which is in place for the whole country, adding the countryside is “bone dry” and asked the public not to light any outdoor fires at all.

“We would ask the public, if you see a forest fire, to call the emergency services immediately on 999 and never approach a forest fire either. They spread very quickly, the smoke gets thick very quickly, and it can be very dangerous.”

People living in the wider area, particularly those downwind, are being advised to keep windows and doors closed and to bring livestock inside.

Vulnerable people including children, pregnant and older people and those with respiratory or heart conditions have been told they should take extra precautions.

'It was just incredible to watch'

Meanwhile, one Slievenamon resident said the local community and farmers had been offering fields and transport for livestock that had to be moved because of the fire and smoke.

Rebecca Purcell said the community had been relying on each other and that it had been a shock to see the fire creeping closer to her home.

She said she never imagined she would have to pack passports and family photo albums in preparation for a possible evacuation.

It had been incredible to watch everyone springing into action, she told RTÉ's Today Show.

 “It's just community, that's what it is, you rely on your community, people just self-organised, the farmers self-organised, people had machines just making sure that there were no overhanging trees around their houses, it was just incredible to watch, incredible," Ms Purcell told RTÉ. 

She added that farmers had organised convoys of slurry tankers to bring water into the forest to help tackle the fire.

“They were there all night; we could hear them at 3am, 4am, just in a constant convoy. They had an amazing system of kind of one in, one out and they were just all night working on the fire with water.” 

Ms Purcell described the situation as “absolutely terrifying” and “horrendous”, but said it had also been heartening to see the community come together.

“We're communities that live on Slievenamon and this mountain has a presence. I'm actually going to get upset because it has a presence in our lives. It's really important to us and to just see the destruction on the mountain, it’s horrendous," she said. 

 - additional reporting from PA