Emergency services had to be called in to tackle large gorse fires in two separate rural areas in counties Monaghan and Cavan over the weekend.
In the first incident, members of An Garda Síochána were called in to assist in the operation, which also involved teams from Monaghan Fire and Rescue.
In a short statement on Saturday evening (July 24), local Gardaí based in the Cavan Monaghan division said:
“The Gardaí in Monaghan are currently at the scene of a gorse fire at Barratitoppy Upper on Bragan, Knockatallon.
“The Fire Service has requested the area is kept clear especially the Bragan scenic route in order to allow access for emergency vehicles.
“Please if at all possible avoid the area to allow the emergency services get the fire under control,” the Garda statement said.
In an update on the matter yesterday (Sunday, July 25) Monaghan Fire and Rescue added: “Monaghan fire service were fighting the gorse fire in Bragan yesterday evening.
“The fire was extinguished last night at 11:00p.m.”
Meanwhile, regarding the second of the two gorse fires, an extensive area was burned in a large gorse fire across the border in Co. Cavan yesterday.
In a tweet which contained aerial photos of the damage, Cavan County Fire Service said:
“Crews from Cavan Town and Ballyjamesduff and Cavan Civil Defence are currently tackling a large gorse fire in Killydoon.
Last week the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issued a ‘Condition Orange’ fire risk rating for a number of days, due to the recent spell of very warm weather.
A Condition Orange fire risk rating indicates a high risk. The risk is deemed to exist in all areas where hazardous fuels such as dead grasses and shrub fuels such as heather and gorse exist. The risk of the fire was expected to peak on Friday (July 23).