Second fire at Bray Head

returned to Bray Head yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon as another fire broke out just days after crews worked through the night battling a huge gorse fire.

A huge cloud of smoke engulfed Bray as firefighters tackled yesterday’s blaze.

The first fire broke out on Friday evening towards the Greystones side of Bray Head. As night fell it could be seen from as far as Wicklow town as flames engulfed the area, spreading quickly around the hill. Fire crews stayed at the scene overnight and the fire finally died down on Saturday afternoon. However, the fire service was called back to Bray Head on Tuesday afternoon as another fire started on the southern side of the cross.

Walkers continued to go up to the area despite smoke still pouring from the hillside on Saturday and the entire eastern side of the head was blackened following the fire.

Gardaí in Bray said that there is no way to know how the fire started. In the case of a large, fast-spreading gorse fire, the cause could have been anything from a discarded cigarette butt to a barbecue or the sun shining through a piece of broken glass.

Conditions have been extremely dry in recent weeks.

Bray Head has been the site of gorse fires each year. On one occasion, in 1995, the entire head was blackened following a fierce fire.

In 2008, the St Patrick’s Day Parade was interrupted as fire fighters left its ranks to tackle a fire on the head.

With no way to get fire tenders up to the blaze, teams of firefighters dug earth to try to control the direction of the blaze and quench the flames throughout Friday night and Saturday.

Yesterday afternoon, two tenders were brought as far as a nearby field while a team of firefighters fought to control the flames.