There was a 94% reduction in the number of gorse fires attended by the Kerry Fire Service during the first quarter of the year.
That’s according to figures compiled the by Kerry Fire Service, which were presented to members of Kerry County Council recently.
Between January and the end of March, the Kerry Fire Service responded to seven gorse fires across the county.
That’s down from 121 during the same period last year and it represents a drop of 94%.
At one point during the same period last year, members of Kerry County Council heard the Kerry Fire Service was responding to up to 24 calls a day during the peak of these fires.
On one weekend alone at the end of February and in early March last year, they responded to 33 gorse fires around Kerry.
Speaking at the recent Tralee Municipal District meeting, acting director of services with Kerry County Council, Paul Neary credited the reduction in gorse fires this year to the very wet weather, stating “it’s hard to light wet gorse”.
Under the Wildlife Act 1976, it’s illegal to burn any vegetation on uncultivated land between March 1st and August 31st.
During the first quarter of this year, the Kerry Fire Service was mobilised 364 times.
27 of those calls were to chimney fires, which are up 8% on the same period last year.
