Public asked to be vigilant to prevent forest and gorse fires

Local authorities have asked the public to remain vigilant during August to prevent a repeat of the May gorse and forest fires in what is the traditional holiday month.

A repeat of the May heatwave, which contributed to fires in Galway, Sligo, Roscommon, Cork and Donegal, seems very unlikely as sunshine and showers are expected to be the norm in August. However, hillside and forest picnics remain a favourite activity for many families during the month.

"Sometimes something as simple as an accidentally overturned stove on a warm day can lead to a raging fire,'' said a Coillte source.

However, the main threat continues to come from fires started maliciously or the burning of vegetation which gets out of control.

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Under the law it is illegal to burn vegetation from March 1st until the end of August, and those found breaking it are liable to prosecution.

There were more than 100 serious gorse and forest fires in May, partly due to a prolonged dry spell in April and an average rainfall at 25 per cent of normal levels for the time of year.

A fire at Cloosh Valley, Co Galway, threatened local communities, and caused considerable damage to wildlife. Some 3,500 hectares of forest and bog land were affected, and trees worth millions of euro were destroyed.

Coillte has estimated it could take up to 25 years to replace the destroyed trees.

Call-outs

A spokeswoman for Galway County Council said this week the 201 call-outs of the Galway fire and rescue service last May cost €167,724.

Local authorities spent €6 million tackling almost 6,000 forest, gorse or bog fires between 2010 and 2015. Cork County Council spent more than €1 million fighting more than 1,260 gorse, grass, forest and bog fires between 2012 and the end of April.

In the past decade the State has imposed a total of €2,250 in fines for unauthorised fires in Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Leitrim and Offaly. There were 11 prosecutions taken under section 40 of the Wildlife Act prohibiting illegal fires in the closed season. The largest fine was €600, while two were for €100 and one was €50.

Farmers who start gorse fires are also liable to lose a portion of the basic farm payment for areas burnt by fire.