Hillfire hell as blazes hit Gougane Barra
‘YOU COULD HEAR SCREAMS OF SHEEP AND WILDLIFE’
THE hellish scene at Gougane Barra last Sunday night resembled something out of Dantés inferno as opposed to the serene and calm and beauty people normally associate with one of the country’s best loved attractions.
The image opposite, taken by photographer John Delea, graphically illustrates the sheer scale of the blaze that swept across the valley during the day, threatening to engulf vast tracks of the forest in the National Park.
The fire had been raging for 24-hours, laying waste to hundreds of acres of land as it blazed across the Kerry- Cork border, with locals still unsure as to the amount of damage the fire caused to floura, fauna and wildlife along the way.
One man who witnessed the awesome power of the blaze as its swept into the valley was local hotelier Neil Lucey, who said they could see smoke and flames billowing into the night sky on Saturday.
“We could see the flames approaching and the fire got so big, so quickly because it was enclosed within the valley. It was an an eerie, terrible sight and you could hear the panicked screams of sheep and wildlife in the valley,” Niall told The Corkman.
“What we saw was only part of the damage because the fire had been blazing for 24-hours. Much of the area it covered is very remote, so at this stage it is hard to quantify the exact extent of the damage caused,” he said.
While an investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire, Neil said it was “highly unlikely” that it was caused by the actions of a local landowner.
“My understanding is that it started high up in the mountains. Any landowner would know only too well how dangerous it would be to start a fire up there,” he said.
“The scorched valley resembles a black sea as you look across it, but at this time of the year it will recover very quickly. Were it not for the magnificent work of the fire service, the damage would have been considerably worse.”
A total of nine appliances, including the control and command centre set up outside the hotel, from Bantry, Skibbereen, Dunmanway, Ballincollig and Macroom fought to bring the fire in the valley under control.
Niall Cronin, station officer at Macroom, told The Corkman that at no time was the historic oratory and church at Gougane Barra under any immediate threat from the blaze.
“While photographs taken at the scene may give that impression, there is actually a good body of water between the island and the forestry so there was never any danger of the buildings catching fire,” said Niall.
He said that, upon arrival, the Macrrom unit was tasked with protecting a farm, buildings and livestock on the western side of the church, while the majority of the firefighters fought to contain the blaze in the National Park.
After making sure the farm was safe, Niall and his colleagues went into the Park, trekking for over an hour with equipment to reach the advancing blaze.
“It was tough enough going and potentially dangerous because the wind could blow up and take the fire in any direction. We used something akin to a handle with rubber mat on the end of it to beat down the flames and starve them of oxygen,” said Niall. “While it may sound a bit rudimentary, it was effective in stopping the flames spreading.”
By the time the Macroom unit left at 7am the fire had been brought under control with colleagues from Bantry and Dunmanway tackling the last remaining hotspots.
“We still do not know how the fire started and because it was spread over such a remote area it is impossible to say with any great accuracy how many acres of land were affected. But, the fire did do a lot of damage to local wildlife,” said Niall.
“The size of the fire and the speed at which it spread just goes to show how careful people need to be in the countryside at this time of year,” he added.