Slievenamon wildfire continuing to burn on Friday

The blaze broke out on Monday, and had spread by the adjacent Coillte forest by Wednesday

Members of the Irish Air Corps provide aerial support in tackling a major wildfire at Slievenamon, Co Tipperary.

Fire crews were still on site in Slievenamon, Co Tipperary, on Friday morning as a wildfire that has been spreading for five days continues to burn.

A multi-agency response is  under way as progress is being made to tackle the blaze.

The blaze broke out on Monday, and had spread to the adjacent Coillte forest by Wednesday.

Local farmers have been helping out emergency services, using their tractors and tankers to help tackle the wildfire.

Tipperary fire services have said they are hopeful the wildfire will be fully extinguished in the next few days, as efforts continue on various locations across the mountain.

While the local council have said there is no immediate threat to life, they have encouraged members of the public to stay away from the affected area and avoid all non-essential travel nearby to allow emergency services unrestricted access.

Meanwhile, experts have said poor air quality can cause several health issues and is likely to be responsible for more than 1,300 needless deaths in Ireland a year, with such wildfires now inevitable as climate change worsens.

Nature minister Christopher O'Sullivan told the Irish Examiner that while climate change is contributing to more frequent periods of extreme weather, "no fire happens naturally in Ireland".

“These are all started either intentionally, or through recklessness. And even though we will get more periods of dry weather, we can prevent fires, like forest fires, by being more responsible, by not using barbecues, by not disposing of cigarettes inappropriately. If we can cut that out, then we can prevent a lot of this damage,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

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