Even with the weather due to change, current conditions remain challenging. A yellow wildfire warning for Northern Ireland, as published by the Natural Hazards Partnership, is still applicable until Monday.
There is also an Orange High Fire Risk Warning in place for the Republic of Ireland until midday on Monday.
Be vigilant, and help protect our mountain landscapes this weekend:
- Avoid blocking forest entrances or narrow roads when parking – access may be required by the emergency services or other large vehicles;
- If you see a fire, report it immediately to the fire and rescue services by dialling 999 or 112, don’t assume someone else has done so. Provide location details as accurately as possible using a grid reference or GPS coordinates. You will not be billed by the fire service or local authority if you report a fire.
• Do not approach fires – fires on the hills can quickly change direction. Avoid traversing uphill above fires, fire can travel uphill faster than you can run.
- Do not burn anything – this may seem obvious but at this time we ask everyone to refrain from using campfires, flame type stoves or disposable bar-b-ques, in or near woodland and on the hills. Take care with cigarettes.
• Do not walk on any recently burnt areas – some of these are still smouldering and this may continue for a few days.
Mountaineering Ireland extends thanks to all those involved in fighting fires in multiple locations over the last two weeks. It’s dangerous, hot and physically demanding work.
The full cost of landscape fires is enormous. It goes way beyond the cost of fighting fires and the risk to human life. Ireland’s mountains are significant natural assets; in good environmental condition they provide a range of ecosystem services that underpin our economy, health and wellbeing. The recent fires undermined the provision of these services, causing air pollution and releasing carbon into the atmosphere, there are water quality impacts too from the movement of ash and exposed peat, and water treatment costs will be increased. While birds can fly, a lot of wildlife can’t get away from a fire – birds’ nests have been destroyed, many small mammals, lizards and invertebrates like caterpillars, spiders and beetles have been killed.
In addition to the impacts on biodiversity, water, carbon and human health, consider how different your recreation experience will be in a blackened, lifeless landscape. How can you help? Fires do not start spontaneously in Ireland’s natural environment, whether it’s deliberate or accidental, there is human involvement in all fires. Talk with others about this and use your voice to say this is not acceptable.