Wildfires raging across the Wicklow Mountains have necessitated calling in the big guns in recent days, with the Irish Air Corps deployed to assist in tackling the spread of the flames.
Called into action over the past two days, the force posted a video of its efforts in recent days on the Irish Air Corps Facebook page.
Accompanying the video, the army division issued a brief statement on the matter.
https://www.facebook.com/IrlAirCorps/videos/971252356598075/
“Today our crews dropped over 42,000L of water using the AW139 equipped with a bambi bucket capable of holding 1,225L of water.
“Operations were concentrated in the Kippure and Glendoo area.”
In an earlier statement posted on social media yesterday, the corps added: “We have responded to a request to assist Wicklow Fire Service in combating wildfires in the Wicklow mountains.
For this we use our powerful AW139 helicopters underslung with a bambi bucket which is capable of dropping 1,225L of water in one drop.
Wildfires have been an issue earlier this week. Firefighters from Rathfarnham, Tallaght and Dolphin’s Barn stations attended an ongoing gorse fire in the Dublin Mountains on Monday (February 25).
According to a tweet on the Dublin Fire Brigade’s Twitter page, no injuries or property damage has been reported; however, some cars in the area were reported to have been covered in ash today.
The fire occurred off Military Road near Glencullen above a view point in the mountains; varying numbers of fire engines were present at the scene while personnel tried to control the situation.