Fire services are urging people to be “vigilant and cautious” as the hot spell has led to a number of gorse fires around the country.
A large fire Co Kerry, which damaged around 15 hectares of land within Killarney National Park, has been extinguished after the alarm was raised at around 5.30pm yesterday.
The areas most affected were at Five Mile Bridge on the N71 Killarney-Kenmare road and Moll’s Gap.
Four fire units from three stations were involved in the operation, with two helicopters on standby.
Kerry county councillor Martin Grady, who is also a fire officer, said that with more hot weather forecast over the coming days and a busy tourist season under way, people needed to be cautious when enjoying beauty spots and to dispose of their rubbish properly, including disposable barbeques.
He said the cause of the fire was not known and it was brought under control “pretty quickly”.
The chair of the Chief Fire Officers Association said fire services are anticipating more gorse fires.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said most gorse fires are started accidentally, through people leaving glass behind or not properly extinguishing disposable barbeques.
He urged people using parks and other amenities to be “vigilant and be careful” and to be conscious of the impact on the environment where fire is concerned.
The Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity said Killarney fire was caused by human activity.
In a statement, Christopher O’Sullivan said that the National Parks and Wildlife Service has been battling fires for a number of days.
He said that it includes incidents believed to have been started by the “reckless use” of disposable barbecues.
“Lighting fires or using disposable barbecues in a national park or any wild area is not carelessness, it is gross irresponsibility – especially during a heatwave,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
He said that lighting fires in national parks and wild places can lead to catastrophic damage to biodiversity, wildlife, livelihoods and public safety.