Firefighters battle gorse blaze near school
GORSE fires broke out in parts of the country as firefighters were called into action in the sweltering heatwave.
A blaze broke out in Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow, yesterday near a school and housing estate as temperatures continued to climb. There had been a string of fires on the land in recent days, but yesterday was the most serious incident.
The alarm was raised shortly after noon, when locals noticed a shrubbery area in Rocky Valley Crescent, Kilmacanogue, was alight.
Fire crews battled the fire, with one member saying: “We’re working flat out. It feels like the whole of Wicklow is on fire.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but residents were shocked to see the blaze so close to their homes.
Parents of pupils at a near- by school were notified and children were removed from the area.
Dublin Fire Brigade has also been fighting a series of heat-induced fires, including a forest fire at the Lugg and Slade Valley mountain area.
Fire crews were assisted by the Irish Air Corps, with a helicopter flying over the blaze and dropping 1,000 litres of water on the fire below.
Smaller fires had built in recent days but had escalated yesterday as the temperatures continued to rise.
A blaze also broke out yesterday at Tolka Valley in Finglas. Dramatic images showed smoke rising from destroyed grassland.
Finglas resident Jacqueline Gallagher took to Facebook to write about her concern that the valley was on fire. “Tolka Valley on fire again,” she wrote. “Smoke billowing up to our estate.”