Wildfire forces evacuations of homes
EFFORTS were continuing last night to dampen the wildfires on Bray Head that have been raging since Friday.
Some locals were evacuated and several nearby homes were in danger of being subsumed by the blaze – scenes more commonly associated with the likes of California and Australia.
Up to late yesterday, an Air Corps helicopter had dropped 150,000 litres of sea water on the blaze on the Co. Wicklow hill – with firefighters concerned about the speed and direction of the fire.
Gardaí yesterday issued an appeal to people not to use drones in the area as helicopters cannot safely assist until all drones are out of the airspace.
Gardaí also closed the Bray Head Cliff Walk to the public yesterday afternoon, due to the excess smoke in the area.
‘The walk is closed as a safety precaution in relation to the risk of smoke inhalation,’ a Garda spokesman said.
‘The fire is not under control yet – in fact it is spreading,’ Captain Mick Barcoe of the Air Corps told The Irish Times yesterday. ‘There is a real concern at the moment that it is going to engulf some houses on the Bray side of Bray Head.’
Wicklow Fire Service said crews would remain on site throughout Saturday night to monitor and extinguish the fires.
‘There will be a lot of smoke from this fire. We ask members of the public to stay away from the area. Anyone living downwind of the fire should make sure to close their windows to help keep the smoke out,’ Dublin Fire Brigade advised yesterday.
‘150,000 litres of sea water was dropped on the blaze’