Risk of gorse fires in Kildare due to dry conditions during warm spell
Coillte has called on people to be alert to the dangers of fires when visiting forests as spring leads into summer.
Dublin Fire Brigade was called to a gorse wildfire in the Dublin mountains near Glenasmole on Thursday night.
The DFB said recent dry conditions have increased the risk of gorse fires.
Because the State-owned forest company Coillte operates a policy of open access to forests, there are millions of visits to Coillte woods every year.
The company revealed that it lost 400 hectares of forest to wild fires in 2018 at a cost of €4m.
Most of the fires happened during the dry hot summer which peaked during a 6-week period from late June to early August.
February
And unusually, a spell of unseasonable dry weather at the end of February led tinderbox conditions in dense undergrowth and sparked gorse fires in the Kildare/West Wicklow border areas of Hollywood and Blessington.
Many of the fires were visible for the Kilcullen, Naas and Sallins areas.
Coillte National Estates Risk Manager Mick Power said that a forest takes 40 years to replace.
"A forest is a very valuable item and takes 40 years to grow. It is not like a field of barley or a field of wheat where you can replace it in 12 months. A forest takes 40 years to replace so if you lose it halfway through a rotation, that's a major financial loss," he said.
While visitors to Coillte forests are welcome, the company is calling on people to report any fires or smoke they see.
They also warn people not to light camp fires in a forest, as this caused many of the fires last year.
Wicklow County Fire Service Chief Fire Officer Aidan Dempsey said 2018 was an exceptional year.
He has served six years with Wicklow Fire Service and normally they would be dealing with 20-30 outdoor fires over a summer, but last year it was more than 400.
He said many fires were started accidentally by people lighting barbecues in the countryside or discarding cigarette butts. He called on people to cooperate with the fire services.
Mr Dempsey said people should not place barbecues on the ground, but on concrete or metal surfaces provided by Coillte and other organisations.
He said they should not discard cigarette butts or use naked flames or light campfires.