Plea for vigilance as gorse fires 'putting strain' on Kerry fire services
Fires In Been Raging Gorse Killarney Have
The scourge of gorse fires blighting the Irish landscape has returned with a vengeance, with reports all across the country of blazes pockmarking vital areas of biodiversity.
The fire service in Kerry said it has been put under “enormous strain” battling gorse fires and preventing them from reaching homes and destroying forestry and wildlife.
Carelessness can endanger lives and cause severe damage to forests and wildlife, as well as being a significant financial burden on the local authority, a spokesman for the fire service said.
“From Friday to Monday morning the fire service had 23 callouts, of which 15 were wildfires in gorse/bog/hillsides,” he said.
These fires also put a tremendous strain on the resources of the service as fire units are often taken away from urban locations to deal with fires in rural hillsides, he added.
The Dingle peninsula, Kenmare area and Killorglin had fires on Friday, while on Saturday Cloghereen Lower near the Killarney National Park was burnt, along with remote areas at Sneem and Templenoe.
On Sunday, there were several fires including in south Kerry and a large bog north of Killarney, an area teeming with wildlife earlier in the day.
O’sullivan Park Four Fire At Days April The Burned Last Valerie For Picture: Killarney National
While fine weather and the recent dry spell have made it an opportune time for farmers and others to burn gorse, it is illegal and an offence under Section 40 of the Wildlife Act, 1976 (amended by Section 46 of the Wildlife Act, 2000) to burn, from March 1 to August 31 vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.
On Sunday a vast stretch of land in Currow — Kilcummin, north of Killarney, was set fire to. According to local man and environmentalist Fred O’Sullivan the area had been “teeming with wildlife” just hours earlier.
Kilcummin bog walk tonight. This hill was teaming with wildlife, Skylark, Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Hen Harrier, Hare, Snipe and many more yesterday. Tonight they are being wiped out... pic.twitter.com/97qKzZG09S
— Fred O'Sullivan (@FredOSullivan) March 27, 2022
Fred had been out walking on the hill on Sunday and had noticed several species of birds including skylark; reed bunting; stonechat; hen harrier; and snipe. He had also observed hares.
However, “tonight they are being ripped out”, he said on social media after posting dramatic shots of the hill burning.
Wicklow Fire Service also shared imagery of the terrible impact on the landscape from fires over the weekend, with its members joining forces with National Parks and Wildlife (NPWS) staff to tackle one of rural Ireland's perennial issues.
Showing a smoking hill at the Corrig mountain ridge on its social media accounts, the fire service described how personnel had spent hours battling the fire.
"Because of the number and density of Megalithic structures, this is sometimes called the Irish Valley of the Kings. It is also an important ecological area," it said.
All forest owners and managers are again advised to prepare for likely outbreaks of fire, the department of the environment has advised.
"Fire lines, fire plans, fire suppression equipment should be reviewed and made ready and other relevant contingencies such as insurance, helicopter contracts etc, checked and confirmed."
It urged "forest owners, farmers, rural dwellers and other countryside users" to be "extremely vigilant regarding fire activity, to report any suspicious or illegal activity".