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Sean Noonan, left and Mark Campion, Members of Killarney Meitheal working group on fire guarding patrol – overlooking Killarney National Park at Aghadoe viewing point this week. Photo: Valerie O’Sullivan
THE National Parks and Wildlife Service has appealed to the public not to light fires or barbecues in public places.
This appeal is following a ‘Condition Orange’ – High Fire Risk. Be Prepared, issued by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, valid until June 6.
The NPWS has increased ground crews on fire patrol and ramped up aerial monitoring with helicopters and drones. Early Summer is a precious time for wildlife and their vulnerable young, especially ground-nesting birds and mammals who are now rearing their young.
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Condition Orange will generally derive from extended periods of low precipitation, moderate relative humidity and low to moderate wind conditions which have the capacity to significantly increase the risk of wildfire initiation and spread.
The Director General of the NPWS, Niall Ó Donnchú, has also asked for everybody’s cooperation to protect nature and said: “While NPWS has increased ground crews and monitoring from the air this week, we still need to enlist your help to protect nature at this high risk time. We ask that members of the public not light fires or barbecues in any National Parks or Nature Reserves, or indeed in nature generally. We are also asking that the public be vigilant and report any fire activity without delay.”
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