Fires costing us over ¤ 125k

THE spate of gorse fires across the county in May have cost Sligo County Council over ¤ 110,000.

A bill yet to come in from Leitrim Fire Services is expected to add another ¤ 15,000 to the total.

The Council and Fire Services are now trying to find out who owns the land they saved in three fires across Killery Mountain, Geevagh and Lough Easkey/ Ox Mountains in order to recoup some of the costs.

The cost places yet another burden on the already cash- strapped Council.

Council Chief Executive Ciarán Hayes said: “If we cannot recoup our costs we will be looking for our Financial Plan targets to be adjusted.”

Questions were asked by members of any preventative measures that could be taken in future to stop the spread of wildfires.

Acting Chief Fire Officer with Sligo Fire Services Gerry O’Malley told the meeting that gorse burning happens every year around this time.

“I have no doubt they didn’t do it intentionally to burn 3,000 acres of land. A media campaign would be very worthwhile. This winter was exceptionally mild and dry,” he said, adding that a media campaign could warn when weather and land conditions were at high risk of wildfires.

“Publicity and education outlining the risks of an Easterly wind” was one preventative measure he said.

Cllr Michael Clarke said there was currently no training for farmers to show them how to control burn. “The State needs to look at that in relation to commonage and how it’s managed,” he said.

Ciarán Hayes said: “The only real preventative measure is no burning.”

Cathaoirleach of the Council Cllr Hubert Keaney said the wildfires put an “unsustainable cost on the Council and the wider community - nearly a million euro from Coillte and the Council is gone up in smoke.”

Members heard from the Chief Fire Officer that as recently as only last week they were called back out to a small fire on Coillte land that had remained smouldering since early May.

He said a team of firefighters who were off duty at the time to attend a colleague’s stag party came in voluntarily to battle the blazes.

They saved five private houses on Killery Mountain from being destroyed. The fires cost the Council ¤ 100,000 in overtime wages, ¤ 3,500 in food and drink, ¤ 4,000 in fuel, ¤ 3,000 for Donegal Fire Services. It will cost Coillte ¤ 500,000 to replant the areas after 200 Hectares were completely destroyed.