The dangers of gorse fires, following a spate of wildfires in Irish rural areas, has been highlighted by Minister for Agriculture Mr Simon Coveney. The Minister has stated that he wishes to remind landowners and people living in rural areas to be vigilant regarding uncontrolled or unattended fires and to report any suspicious activity to Gardaí and the Irish Fire Service.
Met Éireann’s fire weather index has also warned that persistent dry and windy weather means that there is a ‘high to extreme risk,’ for further wildfires into this weekend. The Forest Service has notified foresters, forestry companies and other stakeholders, of the potential for high risk fire conditions developing.
Fire crews from Newport and Nenagh managed to prevent a major blaze, which began yesterday evening & burned through last night, on Keeper Hill, in North Tipperary. Their efforts prevented major damage to a nearby plantation of some 3,300 hectares and a National Heritage area, which includes rare species of plants and animals and whose habitat is fully protected by law.
Keeper Hill is the highest mountain in the Silvermines and indeed the wider Shannon region and the 117th highest formation in Ireland.
The fire, which was successfully contained to open mountain foliage, began on the Silvermines side of Keeper Hill.
Note: Irish Department of Agriculture rules ban the burning of growing vegetation on uncultivated land between March 1st and August 31st each year.
Leave a Reply