SCRUB FIRES which have been spreading rapidly in some uplands in Cos Wicklow and Kerry over recent days have been assisted by unusually dry daytime conditions, according to Met Éireann.
Fire fighters in Co Kerry have asked farmers not to burn scrub after gorse and mountain fires saw some homes threatened.
A spokesman for the service said conditions were very dangerous yesterday, with fires burning on mountains in west Kerry. In the Muckross area near Killarney smoke billowed into the sky.
Six units of the Kerry fire service were called out to fight a blaze in west Kerry until the early hours of yesterday after a number of homes were threatened.
The previous nights saw holiday homes near Rossbeigh under threat.
Last year about 20 per cent of the call-outs of the fire service related to gorse and scrub fires.
In Co Wicklow, gorse and scrub fires have been burning for a number of days, but according to chief fire officer Jim Dunphy there has been no danger to homes or property.
Mr Dunphy said there had been a small forest fire in the south of the county, but in general fires were allowed to burn out where there was no danger of loss of life or to property.
Met Éireann’s head of forecasting Gerald Fleming said humidity was currently as low as 50 per cent during the daytime. This was unusual for this time of year, when humidity levels could reach 85 per cent in a southwest wind.
“It means there is a very dry air during the day,” he said, adding that these conditions would lead to leaves, twigs and scrub becoming very dry.
He said the current high pressure was unpredictable, and may stay beyond the weekend.
The advice of the fire service to farmers is to never burn alone, always to notify neighbours, forestry owners and the fire service, and have plenty of water to hand.
Wind shifts also posed a threat to human life, the service warned.
The Department of the Environment has said there should be no burning at this time of year. The deadline for burning was March 1st, after which it was illegal under the wildlife acts until August 31st.