Fire on the side of Scarr mountain At the height of the fire there were 18 fire fighters there from three stations, with seven vehicles on the scene, said Mr Dempsey.
Also there were gardaí and personnel from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, as well as the Civil Defence, who used a drone to help monitor the fire itself and fire fighters.
The main fire fighting finished at 10.30 p.m.
Members of Tinahely Fire Service stayed on to monitor the area in case the fire would flare up again, which it didn t That was the end of the fire fighting for the day, said Mr Dempsey, who agreed that it probably wasn t the end of it for the summer.
SHARING OPTIONS:
The blaze was close to a Coillte forest, as well as a number of private dwellings. \ Ellen Devitt Durkin
Farmers have been called on to cease setting illegal fires as the open period for burning gorse has now ended.
Approximately 50ha of uplands were destroyed in a blaze that spread rapidly across Scarr Mountain in Co Wicklow, overlooking Lough Dan on Sunday, 7 March.
Areas of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in Co Laois were also damaged on the same day by a wildfire.
Speaking at the site of the blaze in Wicklow, Minister of the State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan stated that such events are a “massive draw on emergency services”.
Wicklow hill fire started maliciously , believes fire chief irishtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from irishtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The week began as many good things do with a coffee. I was standing outside Ragazzi in Dalkey, stuffing my gob with a jammy apricot croissant and an espresso when I noticed this powerfully built fella dressed in black, sporting massive biceps that were covered in tattoos. You would just know by looking at him that he was a tough cookie. He had a taut look to his mouth that said, “don’t mess with me”.
“That’s Ger Kennedy, the ice man,” says my friend Harriet. “Do you know him?”
I never met the bloke before but Harriet knew all about Ger, an endurance athlete who is famous for pushing his body to the limits by swimming under metres of heavy ice. That evening Harriet phoned him and asked him to call down to me at the cottage. And fair play to him, he did.