A raging gorse fire at the edge of Killarney National Park threatened woodlands and left mountain climbers and walkers stranded for a number of hours yesterday.
The flames from the fire - the second since Sunday last in the Mangerton Mountain area - leapt over 15m (50ft) into the sky. Four units of the fire service in Kerry fought the blaze for up to eight hours.
The road to the mountain, a popular walking spot, was closed off for much of the day as firefighters sought to prevent the fires entering the National Park woodland, just metres away.
Despite a ban on burning between March 1st and August 31st under the Wildlife Act 2000, the past week has seen up to 100 gorse fires in Kerry, almost all started deliberately. The fire service in Kerry has issued continuous appeals to the public, farmers and landowners not to burn vegetation on uncultivated ground.
The vegetation is extremely dry and the fires are spreading rapidly, a council spokesman said. The fire service in Kerry has been working around the clock over the past week and is now severely stretched.
Yesterday's fire left the mountainside, which is home to deer and nesting birds, blackened and charred.