LIVEKillarney blaze ‘devastating on an epic scale’
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Kerry’s chief fire officer estimates that up to 2,000 hectares of Killarney National Park has already been destroyed by fires which, it is feared, may have been started deliberately.
As fires continue to burn through the night in parts of the park, including a blaze in the Black Valley which was extinguished just after midnight, attention now turns to finding the source of the fire and assessing the scale of the damage.
There are still some minor burns in the area with ground crew resuming their efforts to tackle the fires early this morning.
“The damage is horrendous,” said chief fire officer Andrew Macilwraith.
“Not only have some of the oldest oak trees in Ireland been destroyed, but also the habitats of thousands of animals have also been destroyed.”
Mr Macilwraith has said the scene looks “a lot better this morning” with helicopters being dispatched to drop more water on the last of the fires.
The chief fire officer told there was “a lot less smoke and fire” to be seen this morning and is hopeful they will be wrapping up later today.
Mr Macilwraith said park rangers are optimistic the Oak Trees can be saved after being severely damaged in the blaze.
“Park rangers are hopeful all the Oak Trees will recover.
“The oaks will hopefully be saved which is a positive thing,” he said.
“It’s very hard to know what the cause is, it was very well established on Friday evening but the strong wind was driving it so fast ahead, there was so much speed and the ground was so dry, with very low humidity, little rain and plenty of sun.
“It might have been as small as someone having a small barbeque,” he said.
Killarney mountain guide Piaras Kelly is one of a number of people who believe the fire was started deliberately.
“What has happened is truly devastating on an epic scale, it is so, so sad," said Mr Kelly. "My opinion and those of others is that it was a deliberate or malicious act carried out by scumbags.”
Asked if the fire was started deliberately, Mr Macilwraith replied: “It’s impossible to know for sure at the moment if this was started deliberately. Obviously, the gardaí are aware of the fire but it’s very hard to tell at this stage.”
Killarney Mayor Patrick Connor-Scarteen said he did not want to be drawn on the cause of the fire at the moment.
“Extra resources, including those from gardaí, need to be dedicated to finding the cause of the fire,” said Mr Connor-Scarteen.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) official Seamas Hassett said: “This is all so unfortunate. The timing is all wrong. You are right in the middle of bird-nesting season but you are also in the middle of the calving season for deer.”
He said up to around 80 people were involved in fighting the blaze yesterday, including 20 fire fighters, 12 members of the NPWS, and around 12 members of the Civil Defence.
The fire started off the Kenmare road near an area known as the Eagle’s Nest. The initial fires got out of control and then spread throughout the park.
Fire officers were dealing with three fires yesterday morning, and they managed to put one of them out in a place called Oak Wood, which is home to some of the oldest oaks in the country.
That was largely due to the Air Corps and a private helicopter dropping water from above and by using crews ferried across a nearby lake to the fire by members of Killarney Water Rescue.
Two fires were still burning yesterday evening at a high and inaccessible level in the park around Purple Mountain. A private helicopter run by Executive Helicopters had to attend to another fire in Galway and had to pull off around 4.30 pm.
Until around 2pm, the Air Corps had been ferrying 1,200-litre buckets of water taken from nearby lakes to spread over the fire. The 16,800 litres they had carried until then appeared to have put out the worst of the fire, which was yesterday evening mainly concentrated around Purple Mountain.
The Air Corp helicopter, which dropped 50,000 litres on the fire on Saturday, was expected to do the same yesterday before it returned to its base before 5pm.
The wind changed direction after lunch and a series of small, half-smouldering fire patches reignited, sending pillars of flames metres into the air in places along a section of a ridge line over the Gap of Dunloe towards an area known as the Parson’s Nose.
The reignited flames sent large plumes of smoke over the gap and surrounding valleys.
“It was or appeared to be under control, but it got a new lease of life as the wind has changed from a south-easterly to a wind blowing east to west,” said explorer Pat Falvey, who lives in the line of the fire.
Kerry county councillor Michael Cahill said the fire is having a devastating impact on habitats and the psyche of locals.
"I have called for firebreaks to be provided around public and private forests and residential areas on a number of occasions over the years,” said Mr Cahill.
“Year after year, the lives of fire service personnel are put at risk protecting our homes from these fires, and our wildlife is being decimated. Everybody involved needs to come to the table before lives are lost.”
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