Watch: Fire crews praised for halting spread of West Cork blaze
Several units of Cork County Fire Service were stood down yesterday morning after some 40 firefighters spent several hours overnight tackling the massive blaze which ripped across some 350-acres of upland around the Gougane Valley area.
It is believed the fire may have started in the Bealick area late on Saturday, but it reached a critical point around midnight on Sunday — as it raged across uplands above 200m — when it looked like it might reach forestry and the national park.
Homes and a hotel were also under threat.
Four units of the county fire service, from Bantry, Macroom, Skibbereen, and Dunmanway, were deployed to Gougane Barra, along with a mobile control unit and a water tanker.
Chief fire officer Seamus Coughlan said, despite the difficult terrain, firefighters managed to set firebreaks in crucial locations. He said they oversaw controlled back-burning towards the firewall, which helped halt the flames’ advance.
The Macroom unit also halted flames within 80-metres of a residential lakeside property.
Weather conditions also favoured the firefighters, with slack winds and rain showers early yesterday helping to halt the spread of the fire.
However, Mr Coughlan said fire crews remain on high alert to respond to more fires given the dry spell.
Neil Lucey, the manager of the 26-bedroom Gougane Barra Hotel, said they were extremely concerned on Sunday night that a change in wind direction could drive the fire towards nearby forestry, and his family’s hotel, where about 25 guests were staying.
“They based themselves here overnight and they were superb, really,” he said.
“Hundreds of acres have been burned and we know that several sheep are missing.”
Mr Lucey, who helped fight a huge gorse fire in the area just days before his wedding in April 1991, said while there had been several gorse fires in the area over the years, Sunday’s blaze was as bad as the 1991 fire.
Gardaí are investigating the cause of the blaze, which has affected about seven landowners.
Mr Coughlan said it is extremely difficult to ascertain the cause of such blazes.
While there is no indication that this fire was started deliberately or maliciously, he reminded landowners that it is illegal to set fires for the management of agricultural land between March 1 and August 31.
