Three units of the fire brigade were in attendance at a gorse fire that broke out in the Wicklow Mountains last night.
The fire broke out on the Little Sugar Loaf Mountain, near Kilmacanogue in Co Wicklow, and was reported after 9pm. A member of the Dublin Fire Brigade control room, which covers five counties, said that three appliances were in attendance at the scene of the fire at 11pm last night. However, she said that, at that time, no houses appeared to be under threat because of the fire. There have been a number of gorse fires following the prolonged good weather in recent days. The Irish Forestry and Forest Products Association, which represents forest-based businesses, yesterday called on all landowners and rural communities to come together to prevent “destructive, and sometimes deadly, land fires”. It follows a number of significant fires this week in Kerry and the northwest. A council spokesman in Kerry said yesterday there had been more than 40 gorse fires requiring the service of sometimes several fire units since January, and there was increasing concern in the current dry spell. The association’s director, Marian Byron, said some 3,000 hectares of forestry had been lost over the last two years to wildfires.