Strong winds fan fire in Arklow wildlife reserve

A RAGING marsh fire in Arklow, Co Wicklow, may have killed or injured wildlife yesterday afternoon. Fanned by a gusting wind, the fire reduced acres of the marsh, which is a wildlife reserve, to scorched earth.

Three fire brigade units from Arklow and Wicklow attended the fire and they concentrated their attention on ensuring that it did not reach a nearby petrol filling station and houses on Ferrybank.

A spokesman for the Arklow fire service said: "We are now into the nesting season for birds and other wildlife and one can only presume that wildlife would have suffered or fallen casualty to this fire."

In another fire on Saturday evening, eight acres of young trees and saplings were destroyed in a forest near Glenealy in south Wicklow. It flared in Kilnamanagh wood shortly before 6pm and the flames were fanned by gusting winds. A witness said the flames could be seen for miles around but the forest was away from roads. Although close to a much larger wood, the wind was blowing the flames in the opposite direction.

Fire brigades from Wicklow and Rathdrum arrived at 6.20pm and contained the fire some hours later.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times