The Irish Army and Air Corps are among those who have been drafted in to help fight an enormous blaze in Galway this evening.
The fire started in a forest in the Cloosh Valley in Connemara this week and has now been branded a “regional emergency”.
The fire took hold on land owned by Coillte, with The Farmers Journal reporting that 1,500ha of forestry and 2,000ha of bogland have been destroyed so far.
VIDEO: Some of the dramatic scenes in Cloosh Valley in Galway during efforts to contain out of control fire pic.twitter.com/SLSZv7zDQH
— Fergal O’Brien (@FergalOBrienTV) May 9, 2017
The view from 16000ft of the fires burning in Galway, taken by our maritime patrol crew heading West while our helis helped local crews pic.twitter.com/ww2GAxM3iF
— Irish Air Corps (@IrishAirCorps) May 9, 2017
Cloosh Valley fire at 3000ft today. Courtesy Galway Flying Club @rtenews pic.twitter.com/RZuB9BTKY0
— Damien Carrick (@damiencarrick) May 9, 2017
The situation is said to have been exacerbated by the high temperatures in Ireland over the past few days and is of particular concern due to the fact that Ireland’s largest wind farm is located close to the site of the fire.
In a statement tonight, Coillte said that it hoped that a drop in temperature would help the efforts of the fire service.
“A regional emergency response operation is in now in place as Coillte staff, along with the fire service, army, and air corps, battle to bring the fire under control. It is hoped there will be some respite to the situation later this evening as temperatures are expected to drop.”
Lead image via Coillte
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