Slievenamon wildfire could burn for days, chief fire officer says

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

It could take “days” to extinguish the large wildfire burning on Slievenamon in Co Tipperary, the area’s chief fire officer has said.

Crews have spent a fourth day tackling the blaze on the mountain in the south of the county, which spread to an adjoining forest on Wednesday.

The Air Corps has provided aerial support, including dropping water on the flames from helicopters in a bid to stop them spreading.

John Shinners, the county’s chief fire officer, said: “It’s proven difficult to access and proven difficult to extinguish, just by the nature of the terrain that’s there.

“So the fire is still ongoing, and with the weather conditions expected for the days to come, it’s expected to be a live fire for quite a number of days yet.

“Mother Nature can work against you and with you, so she’s kind of working against us at the moment.

“It would be really, really great if she gave us a couple of thunderstorms – that would really help us.”

While the fire is making its way through the fuel available, “there’s definitely a number of days in it”, Mr Shinners said.

He said a minimum of 16 firefighters are on site at all times, which can be “boosted” during the day when needed.

He said morale among teams is “quite high” and they are taking structured breaks, are being provided with food and getting adequate sleep.

“Anyone that wants to head home, they can, but they’re all choosing to kind of stay on site and help with the efforts,” he said.

The fire service is regularly assessing homes and buildings housing livestock, Mr Shinners said.

“We place our vehicles and our personnel appropriately then, and we alter our operational plan to factor in where those homes are located, what direction the fire is going in etc.”

While no properties are currently in danger, he said it is an issue under “constant review”.

People living in the wider area, particularly those downwind, are being advised to keep windows and doors closed and, where possible, move animals away from smoke-affected areas.

Vulnerable people including children, pregnant and older people and those with respiratory or heart conditions have been told they should take extra precautions.

Throughout the week, members of the public have been asked to stay away from the area and not to fly drones there.

Shinners said that while the number of drones has “eased off”, and most people are “obeying the rules”, others have continued to arrive, which can cause issues.

“It could just be a wrong vehicle parked in the wrong place at the wrong time, preventing one of our vehicles trying to get through,” he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, a change in the wind direction caused the fire to spread to an adjoining Coillte forest and additional resources were brought in.

Speaking on RTÉ radio on Thursday morning, Coillte communications manager Pat Neville said it had “progressed significantly through the forest yesterday night, despite the best efforts of crews”.

He told the Morning Ireland programme the “immediate focus” is on containing the fire as “quickly and as safely as possible”, adding it is “too early” to assess the damage to the forest.

Describing the fire as “significant and very large”, he said it could cause “extensive” ecological damage to wildlife and habitats, and it could take “years” for the area to recover.

He said “none of these fires start naturally in Ireland” and pointed to the status orange high forest fire risk warning which remains in effect until Friday.

He added that the countryside is “bone dry” and asked the public not to light any outdoor fires.

Even a small fire can “get out of control very quickly and can have very serious consequences”, he said.

The council has asked the public to avoid the River Anner at Thorney Bridge as emergency services are using that stretch of river to draw the water they need to fight the fire.

It also called on the public not to rely on unofficial reports or speculation regarding the incident.