The pyromaniacs have been out in full force again this year here in Connemara since Monday with the onset of dry settled weather. There haven been up to 20 fires daily just in the Clifden - Roundstone area. Amazingly just one has gotten out of control so far which managed to jump across a road on the outskirts of Clifden coming dangerously close to a few houses. Just about everywhere I've been to in the last week reeks of smoke. I only heard this evening that every hardware store in the area have run out off gas fueled blow torches such is the demand in recent days. It seems to be mostly gorse that is being burnt in fields as opposed to burning on open bog or commonage which is something to be grateful for I suppose.
2010 was a very bad year for illegal uncontrolled burning with thousands of hectares of bog and forestry all going up in smoke in Connemara. Hopefully everyone will have gotten the urge to burn out of their system before the start of the bird breeding season. It is illegal to burn any vegetation on uncultivated land from 1st March to 30th August in Ireland but of course that doesn't stop alot of people here unfortunately.
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| The smog was so bad today you could just about Errisbeg hill which was only 3km away from this position. |
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| Bog fire from 2010. |
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| The aftermath. Black desert just about as far as the eye can see. This fire travelled about 6km from one end of Roundstone Bog to the other in 2010. |
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| It wasn't just wildlife that suffered in 2010, many sheep had to be humanely put down due to severe burns. |
Shocking stuff indeed. And I believe that the Killarney Fire Brigade had 40 call outs last weekend to many fires raging around Killarney National Park. It's ridiculous that they have helicopters flying over rural areas looking for people burning rubbish in incinerators or bonfires to get rid of leaves (much of which could be composted), and then these people get fined, but yet farmers have a free hand to reek havoc over vast tracts of land!! Here in Spain now it is a very, very serious crime to cause a wildfire. Hefty prison sentences are being handed out even to people who "unwittingly" chucked a cigarette butt away and caused the destruction of thousands of hectares. They have even done DNA tests on butts as part of the investigation.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time legislation was brought in. Any response in the media from Phil Hogan??