Fire fighters battle large gorse fires on Mount Leinster

Sarah Slater

Fire fighters are battling a large gorse fire along one of the country’s most scenic mountain ranges in the south-east.

Carlow based fire units have been battling for several hours to extinguish the extensive fire close to the Nine Stones area on Mount Leinster along the Blackstairs Mountains, where a RTÉ transmitter is located.

The fast moving gorse fire was visible across counties Carlow, Wexford and Kilkenny.

A large gorse fire is burning on Mount Leinster in Carlow this morning, below the mast. Avoid the area as the road is blocked with fire crews on the scene. Sadly this looks to have once again been started deliberately. pic.twitter.com/Tl9CnFSxWD

— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) August 14, 2022

Carlow County Fire and Rescue Service had issued numerous warnings to the public not to start fires due to the current high temperatures.

They along with Carlow County Council are appealing to the public to stay away from the area.

Liam Carroll, acting fire chief with Carlow Fire Service said: “(The) road to the Nine Stones from the Bunclody/Myshal side will be closed for a number of hours as fire crews deal with a large gorse fire.

“Please stay away from the area until further notice. Again, please do not light fires outdoors for any reason. These are very difficult conditions for our fire crews to work in.

“This fire is burning very close to the popular Nine Stones car park which will result in an unsightly scar on the landscape adjacent to this natural beauty spot already.”

Mr Carroll added: “As well as being damaging to plant and animal life, these fires release enormous volumes of smoke, carbon dioxide and other pollutants which are harmful to the atmosphere."

Earlier this year fire service crews also battled extensive gorse fires which destroyed large swathes of land along the same range of the Blackstairs mountains.