Fire crews fight extensive gorse fires on Blackstairs Mountains

Sarah Slater

Fire crews from across Carlow and Kilkenny were called out to deal with extensive gorse fires on the Blackstairs Mountains overnight.

The fires took hold in the Raheendarragh area on Mount Leinster which is the third time this week that fire crews have dealt with such call-outs.

There is currently an Orange High Forest Fire Risk rating and the public are being urged not to light fires, use BBQs and to dispose of smoking materials responsibly in areas with very dry land and vegetation.

A Carlow Fire and Rescue spokesperson warned that such fires “damage local habitats and take fire service resources out of urban areas to deal with them”.

The public are urged to remain vigilant and report any burning/fires to the Fire Service and to the gardaí.

The spokesperson added: “These fires can spread very quickly due to the land being so dry and with winds particularly in the evening aiding fast spread across large areas of land.”

Last Wednesday, emergency services were at the scene of a fire in south Kilkenny, which took almost six hours to extinguish.

The fire service tended to a gorse fire in the Cullintra area, outside The Rower, Co Kilkenny, as the blaze was spreading.

While no injuries were reported in all three call-outs a spokesperson for Kilkenny Fire Service said that this time of year fire services across the country are “inundated with gorse fires”.

The spokesperson noted that such fires can have a “huge, devastating impact on nature, particularly ground-nesting birds as their habitats are destroyed”.