Fire crews battle gorse fires in Mayo

Gorse fires raging in north west


Gorse fires have broken out in Counties Mayo, Galway, Donegal and across the border in Co Down. In Co Mayo, the Fire Service is dealing with gorse fires along the Castlebar to Pontoon Road in the Ross area, with four square kilometres of bog and forestry reported to have been damaged by one large fire.
Meanwhile, another fire is burning close to the townland of Coolturk, which is situated on the N59 Erris Road, close to Crossmolina. The blaze started last night and was still burning this morning. Woodland in the area has been affected.
Just south of the Mayo/Galway border, in north Connemara, another large fire has caused extensive damage in the Lough Inagh Valley area close to Recess. 
While the cause of the fires has yet to be established, the recent spell of warm, sunny weather would have left heather and grass extremely dry, accelerating the rate at which the blazes spread.
Fires also raged throughout the county this time last year, with the Mayo Fire Service called out 150 times to fight gorse and bog fires in April 2010 alone.

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