Kerry Fire Service and the National Parks and Wildlife Service are appealing to people not to light fires in the countryside.
It’s illegal to burn vegetation between March 1st and August 31st due to the bird nesting season.
Kerry Fire Service says carelessness can endanger lives and cause severe damage to forests and wildlife, as well as being a huge financial burden on the county council.
Fire crews from Listowel, Tralee, and Ballybunion had to deal with bog fires on Saturday night in Derryvrin, Ballincloher, and Ballynagare, Lixnaw, which took several hours to get under control.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is reminding visitors of the catastrophic impact of lighting fires, citing the blaze last April that destroyed 3,000 hectares of Killarney National Park.
NPWS staff have been assessing areas within Killarney National Park ahead of the Easter and summer holidays using thermal imaging and drones.
National Park and Wildlife Service Conservation Wildlife Rangers, William Hunt and Mary Sheehan, at the Eagles Nest, Killarney National Park, assessing areas of popular recreational activity with the latest technology using thermal imaging and assistance of drones ahead of the Easter and Summer holidays. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, wishes to remind visitors of the catastrophic impact of lighting fires. In April 2021, a fire ripped through the Unesco biosphere reserve, resulting in 3,000 hectares being destroyed. Complex ecosystems that took hundreds of years to evolve and Wildlife destroyed, Habitats including wet heath, ancient oak woodlands, blanket bog dating back to neolithic times, lakes and waterways were impacted. Enormous efforts by National Parks and Wildlife Service, Kerry Fire Service, The Air Corps, Killarney Search and Rescue and many local volunteers battled for four days to contain and quench the fire in Killarney National Park. The NPWS is urging more vigilance and heightened public awareness about the dangers of using naked flames outdoors, the need to protect this national resource is paramount. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan/FREE PIC***
