Earth itself catches fire as three-day blaze engulfs several acres of Northern Irish park

As much as three hectares (seven and a half acres) of Castlewellan Forest Park has been damaged by a blaze which has raged over three days, according to a fire chief.

Area commander Mark Smyth said the blaze began towards the north-west of the park, and is thought to have been deliberate (but not malicious).

He said firefighters had been engaged in tackling the blaze since about 1.30pm on Friday, pouring great quantities of water onto the land.

And late on Sunday morning he said firefighters were still at the scene, making sure that the blaze has truly been stamped out.

Commander Symth said that it was not merely the gorse and trees which were on fire, but actually the ground underneath them (much of which is believed to be peaty in nature).

As such, the fire was seen to travel beneath clear forest paths and emerge on the other side.

Mr Smyth said perhaps as many as 60 firefighters were needed to combat the fire, plus perhaps another 20 workers from agencies such as the Forestry Service.

As well as up to three hectares of the south Co Down park being affected, he estimated that another 1.5 hectares on the outskirts of the park had also been damaged.

“The ground is very, very dry underfoot,” he told the News Letter.

“So it’s conducive to wildfires spreading very quickly. We had a bit of rain overnight but it’s not penetrating down into the surface.”

He noted that now is the time of year when many birds are taking care of their young, and that the blaze will have cost the lives of some wildlife in the park.

He went on to renew the fire brigade’s ongoing appeal not to light any fires in the countryside.

“All fires are human-made in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“We don’t have ‘natural fire’ occurring out in the wild, in the countryside.

“I can safely say it was a deliberate fire... [but] I have no reason to believe this fire was malicious.”

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