Firefighters tackle almost 150 wildfires across three days in Northern Ireland

By David Young, PA

Firefighters have tackled almost 150 wildfires in Northern Ireland across three days, a commander has said.

Group commander Danny Ard from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said a “significant majority” of the fires were started deliberately.

That included a huge blaze in the Hilltown area near the Mourne Mountains in Co Down, which the fire commanders described as one of the most significant they have had to deal with in years.

A major incident was declared as firefighters tried to contain the fire.

At the height of operations, 15 fire appliances and more than 100 firefighters worked in difficult conditions and high winds throughout Saturday evening and into the early hours of Sunday to tackle the gorse fire.

As a precaution a number of residents were evacuated from their homes on the Sandbank and Kilbroney roads while the fire was brought under control.

A 25-year-old man arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the fire was later released on bail.

Across the weekend, significant wildfires also took hold in the Ben Crom and Silent Valley areas in the Mourne Mountains.

On Monday firefighters continued to tackle another gorse fire at nearby Bloody Bridge outside Newcastle, Co Down.

In Co Antrim, a significant fire broke out on Sunday in the Garry Wood area close to the village of Dervock.

Northern Ireland’s Environment minister Andrew Muir has expressed concern that someone will lose their life if those responsible for starting wildfires do not “wise up”.

Mr Ard said the workload firefighters were facing was “exceptionally significant”, as he predicted more incidents through the coming week as dry and windy conditions are forecast to continue.

“We had 146 gorse fires since midnight on Thursday and we very much expect that’s going to continue through the week,” he said.

Mr Ard said the Hilltown blaze was one of the “most significant fires for a long time”.

“It was certainly very frightening for the local residents,” he told BBC Radio Ulster.

“Certainly the firefront that we had down around the Sandbank Road was significant, and the fierce wind that I’m sure we’ve all been feeling was driving it, and made it very challenging for us to extinguish.

“Certainly going across the weekend with the good weather and the driving winds we’ve been exceptionally busy with gorse (fires).”

Mr Muir will visit the Mourne Mountains later on Monday to see the extent of the damage.

“The environmental impact as a result of these fires has been significant,” he told Radio Ulster.

“We have hundreds of acres of protected land which has been destroyed as a result of these fires.

“But also I am really, really worried that we could actually see loss of life in the time ahead if people don’t wise up and stop lighting these malicious and deliberate fires.”