Wicklow Mountains National Park had its first fire of the year on Saturday.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) had helicopter surveillance flights and ground patrols in operation during the current spell of dry weather.
Over the weekend, the Department of Agriculture issued a Condition Orange – High Fire Risk.
The NPWS helicopter surveillance flights began last year to allow the NPWS to respond to fires rapidly and aid rangers on the ground.
The helicopter flights can also aid any investigation into how the fires were started.
“We’re looking for plumes of smoke,” explained Andrea Webb, conservation ranger at Wicklow Mountains National Park.
Ms Webb added: “Then we’ll head over there, and we’ll see what that plume of smoke is.
“If it’s coming from an open hill or forestry, we will be able to direct people on the ground involved in putting those fires out early.
“Early detection is key to reducing the damage of these fires,” Ms Webb said. She said between one and three fires occur in the Wicklow Mountains National Park each year.
“People realize now that it’s not something that should happen,” Ms Webb said.
May is a particularly bad month for fire. “It’s the time of year when everything is breeding,” Ms Webb said.
“What’s really significant about fires on the ground is they can just destroy ground nesting birds. They can destroy badger sets, cooking the badger’s underneath, it can destroy invertebrate species… it’s really very harmful.”
On Saturday, Wicklow Mountains National Park had its first significant fire of the year.
“I don’t think the landowner really took into account that there was an orange fire warning and misjudged the situation,” Ms Webb said of the fire.
Several acres of bogland were burned but the fire was brought under control reasonably quickly. Although Wicklow experienced a few dry days over the weekend, the wet spring meant the moss underneath the heather was still wet.
If the weather gets drier over the summer, fires could become more significant.
“In Wicklow it was a crazy weekend,” Ms Webb said.
“There’s that panic: ‘We’ve got sunshine! We need to get out there and enjoy ourselves,” she added.
Ms Webb said everyone needs to be aware that an orange fire warning means that there should be no barbecues or campfires in the national park.
Where a fire outbreak occurs at or near recreational area, the Department of Agriculture recommends visitors take a number of actions in the interests of safety:
They encourage people to not light fires in and around forests or open land, not to attempt to intervene or fight fires under any circumstances, gather all family or group members and move to a safe fuel-free location such as a car park, upwind of the fire, and telephone fire services.
