View of the fire in Cloosh Valley, Co Galway from 16,000 feet yesterday
As the fire service, army and air-corps continue to battle the fire in the Cloosh Valley near Oughterard, Co Galway which began on Sunday…
The Galway Advertiser reports:
The fire in Cloosh Valley near Oughterard, which has destroyed more than 1,000 hectares of forestry is believed to have originated from deliberately set gorse fires, which subsequently spread into Coillte owned forestry.
Deliberately set gorse fires blamed for Cloosh Valley catastrophe (Galway Advertiser)
Pic: Irish Air Corps
Sponsored Link
Does this rumour about deliberately started gorse fires have any evidence? Or shall we just start blaming random culchies?
What about the outrageous (and almost useless) wind-farm white-elephant nearby? Why is nobody examining the potential culpability of the construction techniques used by these bloated subsidy parasites?
No. Let’s publicly condemn all farmers immediately. Then we don’t need an investigation.
Many Farmers are pro Bort these days Zuppy hate to break it to you bud
Mr Andyourp blames developers.
He wears a foil hat, though.
So its not the farmers, its the wind farm that is causing all these fires? Even in places where there is no wind farm but large fires?
Why the rush to blame farmers? Any evidence?
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-causal-history-of-forest-fires-1342893
Hi zuppy, historically, rightly or wrongly, irish farmers have burnt gorse for land management purposes. There’s even a guide available on the Dept of Agriculture website giving instructions on how to conduct a “safe and controlled burn”. But playing by the departments rules does incur a cost and some farmers bypass the above rules leading to the uncontrolled burns and the damage we see in our news today. It’s not made up it’s part of rural life, and hopefully those responsible will be brought to justice.
So the one in Kerry that started in not warm weather was what exactly?
The article you link to states that they are usually caused by lightening. Can you point out that last few lightening storms that we have had in Kerry, Galway, Sligo, etc please?
next, can you explain how the wind farms are the cause, especially since only one area currently on fire has a wind farm.
I don’t think anyone’s not saying it’s probably farmers. Even farmers think it’s probably farmers, albeit with lots of (quite correct) #notallfarmers. We’re not North America. It’s not that sort of eco-system. If it wasn’t farmers, it was acts of malicious arson.
Oh God someone set that first sentence on fire.
Did you just burn yourself Nigel?
It was a farmer done it.
Zuppy and contrariness, sittin in a tree, K I S S ING
Let’s just follow the fake news bandwagon shall we Starina?
No questions, no deviations, no thinking.
Shut up and swallow your programming!
Grand will do
2 spoons 3 times a day
* slurps side of bucket
These fires were almost certainly started deliberately. It’s a regular occurrence in the area (about 10 minutes from where I grew up). Landowners are responsible for some fires, but the likely cause in this case is opportunistic arsonists rather than farmers. Calling it a gorse fire is a bit of a misnomer, as there is little gorse in the area – it’s mostly heather, grass, and dry scrub.
Not sure what to make of the wind-farm comment really. Seems you may have an axe to grind?
I have as much evidence to blame natural causes and/or windfarm construction as anybody else has to blame farmers and/or arsonists.
No, you don’t. I can understand your defense of farmers and landowners who have been almost universally assumed to be at fault. Your suggestion that it relates to wind-farm construction does not have any basis in precedent however.
There are plenty of cases of gorse fires caused by farmers, landowners, and arsonists. As someone local to the area, I know some of these people myself, and have known others to light fires for “the craic”. I have helped neighbours fight these fires when they threaten their homes. This may be anecdotal evidence, but it’s more than you have to support your allegation of wind farms or natural causes. In addition, no lighting strikes have been recorded in the area over the relevant period: http://www.met.ie/climate/lightning.asp
Let’s hope none of the arsonists’ family members are in dire need of emergency services while the latter tackle the blazes. Idiots.
Apart from the threat to human life and property – it would appear that millions of euros ‘ worth of timber, which is State owned, and the wildlife who live in and around this timber, can be wantonly destroyed by some cheapskate who doesn’t want to buy animal feed? In no circumstances are we allowed to criticize this situation. Sounds about right.