Firefighters across the country are battling to control gorse and wild fires that have broken out, with counties Meath, Dublin and Cork all hit with blazes today (Thursday, June 28).
Two gorse and bog fires wreaked havoc in Co. Meath earlier today; fire service crews were brought in from Navan, Trim and Kells to deal with the blaze – which broke out in Kildalkey, near Trim – in addition to local Coillte staff.
Meath Fire Service posted dramatic footage on its Twitter account, with the caption: “More footage of the extensive gorse and bog fire at Kildalkey today in Trim. Crews from Navan, Kells and Trim still in attendance.
“Thank you to our Coillte colleagues for use and co-operation of their aerial support.”
More footage of the extensive gorse and bog fire at Kildalkey today in Trim. @MCCFireService crews from Navan, Kells and Trim still in attendance. thank you to our @coilltenews colleagues for use and Co operation of their aerial support. pic.twitter.com/gArExweSxV
— Meath Fire Service (@MCCFireService) June 28, 2018
This was following on from an earlier tweet this afternoon, showing the extent of the inferno – also from a bird’s-eye view.
The view of the incident @MCCFireService are attending with @coilltenews in Kildalkey, Trim. @LMFMRADIO @meathcoco pic.twitter.com/ftRkEafGT4
— Meath Fire Service (@MCCFireService) June 28, 2018
It is also understood that another bog fire broke out on the Ballivor to Longwood road, according to local radio station LMFM.
Meanwhile, in Co. Cork, Cork City Fire Brigade has been under severe pressure today and yesterday with gorse and grass fires – posting some heated photos on its Twitter account.
Another sunny day ?☀️ ➡️ Another night/day of Gorse and Grass Fires ??
One of our appliances is showing temperatures at 39degrees….. We might get that checked though ?#cork #fire pic.twitter.com/SS55N2VCSx
— Cork City Fire Brigade (@CorkCityFire) June 28, 2018
Firefighters were under pressure extinguishing large flames, as can be seen in the imagery.
Image source: Cork City Fire Brigade
Finally, in Co. Dublin, the Irish Air Corps was busy engaging in aerial firefighting in the Wicklow Mountains. This follows on from a busy day yesterday in the same area, as can be seen in a video recorded by the Air Corps and posted on its Facebook page.
The video above was posted by the Air Corps yesterday (Wednesday, June 27), while the below photo was taken earlier today.
Image source: Irish Air Corps
Condition Red warning
A Condition Red forest fire danger rating notice was issued earlier this week (Tuesday, June 26) by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The warning is set to remain in place until tomorrow, Friday, June 29.
The department added that upland fires can cover extensive areas and pose extreme difficulties to suppression efforts.