Eight units of Dublin Fire Brigade fought a gorse fire in the Dublin mountains for over eight hours yesterday.
Fire services were alerted to the outbreak of a fire on acres of gorse and bracken early yesterday morning and managed to bring it under control at around 8pm. The fire, which spread rapidly up the mountainous area near Sandyford, and which was widely visible above the city, threatened an ESB power line and ESB pylons and was attended by as many as eight fire units and three water tanks at one stage.
A spokeswoman for An Coillte said the fire did not threaten any of the lands owned by the the Irish forestry company in the region.
Residents, fearful that the fire might threaten their houses, observed the spread of the fire throughout the day.
However, no houses were damaged in the fire, although some surrounding areas such as Edmondstown Golf Club suffered a temporary power shortage.
Access to areas near the Paddocks Riding Centre on Woodside road was also prohibited as gardaí put diversions in place.
A forestry area near Stepaside, which has large numbers of mature trees, was identified by residents yesterday as a danger area for another possible gorse fire in the warm weather.