Mayo Fire Service battles 200 blazes

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE... ?Farnaught, near Westport, and in the shadow of Croagh Patrick, was one of the areas to catch fire last week. The smoke was thought to have affected mobile phone signals in the area.?Pic: Conor McKeown

Mayo Fire Service battles 200 blazes


Edwin McGreal and Neill O’Neill

As wildfires continue to rage around the county, Mayo’s Fire Service has been stretched to the limit, responding to near-on 200 blazes over the last ten days in what have been described as tinderbox conditions.
Tony Shevlin, Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Mayo, told The Mayo News that the worst of gorse fires in recent days have been at Shanwar, Foxford; Killawalla, Westport; and Treanagleragh, Kiltimagh.
Three units of Mayo Fire Service responded to the fire at Foxford at around 3pm on Saturday afternoon. The fire was finally extinguished shortly before midnight that night.
The call from Killawalla came in at around 9.30pm on Sunday evening, where a fire threatened a number of houses and forestry. Two units attended and the fire was quickly brought under control, but fire fighters remained at the scene until 11am yesterday (Monday) morning to ensure the properties and forestry remained safe.
The fire at Treanagleragh, largely a mountain fire, was attended to by two units. The call came in just after 5pm on Sunday, and the fire was eventually put out at 3am yesterday.
“Our resources are extremely stretched at the moment, with anywhere between 60 and 80 fire fighters dealing with these incidents on the ground,” Mr Shevlin said. “While we will endeavour to deal with these vegetation fires as quickly as possible, our main priority will always be the protection of life.
“The routine calls to house fires, road traffic collisions and so on are still evident, and we must ensure that we have adequate resources available to deal with these more serious and possibly life-threatening situations.”
At yesterday’s meeting of Mayo County Council, Cllr Micheal McNamara asked for an investigation into how so many of the fires which raged throughout the county and beyond were started.
“These fires endangered those working for the fire services and volunteers who helped contain the blazes. If people are found to be guilty of maliciously starting these fires, they should face the full rigours of the law,” he said.

Criminal offence
Meanwhile, A spokesperson for An Garda SíochΡna urged people to refrain from lighting fires for any reason, and he issued a reminder that it is illegal to do so.
“There have been a lot of fires across Mayo and we will be investigating every single one of them and looking to bring charges against those starting them,” said the spokesperson. “It is illegal to burn vegetation between April 1 and September 30, and the potential damage fires can do is untold, as nobody can predict how a wildfire will spread. There is a danger to persons, property, wildlife and the environment, and people need to show restraint in relation to lighting fires, which is a very serious matter.”
In the recent past a man was jailed for several years in Mayo for starting a fire, and it is thought that problems on the Vodafone network last week, which caused widespread disruption, were caused by a wildfire on ‘The Black Hills’ in the Farnaught, Killeenacoff and Cloona areas of Westport.
It is illegal to burn anything or start a fire within one mile of forestry. A plantation that was ready for felling was destroyed by the Westport fire last week, which could have significant financial consequences for its owner.
Reiterating how seriously Gardaí are taking the current spate of fires, the spokesperson again appealed for people to cease lighting fires outdoors, and for anyone with information on any of the recent fires to contact their local garda station.


ISLAND ABLAZE?Fire engulfed both sides of the road in the boggy Cashel area of Achill Island. This picture was sent into us by Richard Needham.