County Cork fire brigades work through the night on gorse fires

On a windy Sunday on the west side of County Cork, Ireland, satellite hotspots were highlighting what firefighters were facing in person, with reports of nearly 100 fires breaking out in gorse and related fuels, beginning February 26 and burning into the next morning.

Burning gorse in Cashelfean, County Cork, Ireland. Photo: Cork County Council.
Burning gorse in Cashelfean, County Cork, Ireland. Photo: Cork County Council.

Significant nighttime fire growth in highly flammable gorse brush threatened a radar and aviation-control installation and involved six West Cork fire brigades and other resources, including the Irish Aviation Centre firefighters on Mount Gabriel.

Heat detection and burned area mapping from the Global Wildfire Information System highlights widespread fire ignitions on the West Cork peninsulas from Feb. 26-27, 2023.

The burning of vegetation from March 1 through August 31 is a violation of the Wildlife Acts, but a spokesperson for Cork County Council warned that intentionally set fires during last weekend’s winds threatened houses, a radar installation, livestock and wildlife, not to mention the risk to firefighters and the drawdown of resources for other emergencies.

Twitter correspondents also captured the flames.

For additional news reports, see https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2023/0227/1359220-gorse-fires-cork/ and https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-41081189.html.

Along the west coast of the United States, gorse is a an invasive that also exhibits extreme fire behavior.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

One thought on “County Cork fire brigades work through the night on gorse fires”

  1. Gorse has very sharp stickers that rips the flesh. In California Ulex europaeus can be found in coastal counties and the northern Sierra Nevada foothills. It invades infertile or disturbed sites, sand dunes, gravel bars, fence rows, overgrazed pastures, logged areas, and burned-over areas. Besides becoming a significant fire hazard, it can successfully out compete native plants in part because of its association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which facilitate its colonization of nitrogen-poor soils.

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