Gorse fires blaze on Mount Eagle

THE legal season for buring furze on the hillsides is over and birds are nesting but this week smoke billowed from fires blazing on the slopes of Mount Eagle in a repeat of what has become an annual catastrophe for wildlife around West Kerry.

The legal ‘burning season’ runs from September 1 to February 28, giving farmers six months to burn scrubland and thereby qualify for various EU grant schemes. Even so, farmers have made the case that the winter is often too wet for burning scrubland and in response to their demands Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys is currently looking at extending the burning season to the middle of April. However, last winter was exceptionally dry and there was ample opportunity for burning scrub, yet the close of the burning season has once again been followed by fires on the hillsides.

Kerry County Council Environment Officer Micheál Ó Coileáin said burning scrub at this time of year causes untold damage to wildlife and forestry, homes are frequently endangered, the fire service is put under huge and unnecessary pressure and there is a serious impact on nearby residents who are forced to endure the smog.

Of course, it’s impossible to say who started the fires on Mount Eagle and it’s highly unlikely that prosecutions will follow, but many locals were none too impressed to see smoke rising up into the blue sky on Monday afternoon.

Gorse fires blazing on Mount Eagle on Monday.