FIRE CREWS FEELING THE HEAT
FIRE crews have been run off their feet over the past week as near record-breaking heat has caused tinderbox conditions.
In Bunclody, crews from the local fire station, backed by units from Carnew and Gorey, spent the week trying to control a forest fire that swept through Coolmelagh Woods at Gibbet Hill.
Huge water tankards and a helicopter were drafted in in a bid to dampen down and control the blaze and yesterday (Monday), a spokesman said that it finally seemed to have subsided.
Meanwhile, in Enniscorthy, a large gorse fire beside the railway tracks at Clonhaston on Friday resulted in commuters facing delays as trains were stopped while the fire service battled the blaze.
Crews also responded to two blazes on Sunday evening, one of which took nearly an hour and a half in total to quench.
PLUMES of smoke have been periodically rising over Gibbet Hill near Bunclody for the past week as the fire service and Coillte employees battle to quench a huge forest fire at Coolmelagh Woods.
The blaze initially broke out over a week ago, on June 24, and due to the extremely dry conditions, the fire has re-kindled on a number of occasions resulting in fire fighters putting in extremely long shifts and even having to call on a helicopter to aid with dampening things down.
While it was intially believed things had been brought under control at the 25 acre wooded site on Monday morning of last week, the fire subsequently re-kindled that evening and in the following days, resulting in emergency services having to leap into action once again to contain it.
The noise of helicopter blades echoed around the hillside on Wednesday evening as an emergency services chopper attempted to drop water on the areas which were still burning. Exhausted firemen and Coillte workers had to keep a sharp eye on things over the course of the week and be ready to jump into action once more whenever required.
Following a busy week, Declan Doyle from Coillte says that the blaze has done untold damage and, a week on, the woods are still being monitored around the clock.
‘It was next nigh impossible to quench the fire,’ he said. ‘It was just a matter of controlling things. We’d dampen it down as much as we could overnight and then we’d be back out first thing in the morning. On Wednesday, we had three fire engines, tankards, a helicopter and bulldozers. It’s just so hard to access certain areas.’
Declan says that in all his years working with Coillte, he has never seen conditions quite like this and he says that, right now, the costs are incalculable.
‘We’ve tried to keep it under control as much as possible, but the costs are huge,’ he said. ‘ Then there’s the environmental damage to consider. It’s had a big impact on local landowners, adjoining residents and even the owners of the wind turbines on the hill. I’ve never seen conditions as dry and I’m in this job a long time. It’s just roasting. I’ve been up there at midnight and it’d still be hot.’
A week after the blaze first broke out, things are looking slightly better, although they are not out of the woods yet and the situation continues to be monitored.
‘ There’s a bit of smouldering there still,’ said Declan. ‘ There are still a few bits and pieces burning and some smoke around, but little or no smoke was visible over the hill this morning, which is a good sign. Hopefully things are under control now.’
While most of us have been rejoicing in the fine weather, the crews who have been working on Gibbet Hill will be hoping for just a little bit of rainfall to help them out and ensure the dying embers of the blaze are extinguished once and for all.