Mourne Mountains fire started deliberately

Strong east-to-southeast winds have aided the spread of a large fire in the Mourne Mountains in County Down.

The blaze broke out on Saturday evening and was later declared a major incident by local authorities as it encroached on several properties.

Firefighters are currently in attendance at wildfires in the Silent Valley and Ben Crom areas of Newcastle and are expected to remain at the scene throughout the day.

Satellite imagery shows smoke from the fire continuing to drift across mid-Ulster on Sunday morning.

More than 100 members of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service are tackling the blaze, which is the latest in a series of fires to have broken out in the Mournes in recent weeks.

Aidan Jennings, Chief Fire Officer, said the cause of this fire is believed to have been “deliberate ignition.”

He said, “At the height of operations, 15 fire appliances and over 100 firefighters worked together with our partner agencies in difficult conditions and high winds throughout the night to bring the large wildfire under control.

“As a precaution, a number of residents were evacuated from their homes on the Sandbank and Kilbroney roads whilst the fire was brought under control.

“At approximately 3:00 a.m. (Sunday, 6 April), resources began scaling back,” added Mr. Jennings.

An amber weather warning remains in place for wildfires across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The latest incident comes just five days after a fire was extinguished near Spelga Dam in the Mourne Mountains and other fires on Slieve Binnian the previous week.

Elsewhere, there have been fires in the Glens of Antrim, Bridgetown and Doonbeg in Clare, the Sperrin Mountains in County Tyrone, Killarney in Kerry, and in West Cavan.

Under Irish law, the cutting, grubbing, burning, or other destruction of vegetation growing on “any land not then cultivated” is prohibited between 1st March and 31st August annually.