Fire continues to burn but conditions have improved

Westmeath Fire and Rescue Service crews remain in attendance at the scene of a significant forest fire in the Milltownpass area, adjacent to the M6.

Fire crews from Mullingar Fire Station and Kilbeggan Fire Station initially responded to the incident shortly after 9am on Monday, 13 July, and worked alongside partner agencies to bring the fire under control.

The firefighting operation has been supported by Bord na Móna, executive helicopters, and Civil Defence, whose drone capability provided valuable aerial support in monitoring conditions and directing resources during the incident.

The fire is currently under control – however, large areas continue to smoulder and Westmeath Fire and Rescue Service crews are in attendance again today, 14 July, carrying out dampening-down operations and monitoring for any potential flare-ups.

Crews from Mullingar Fire Station remain at the scene as these operations continue.

The M6 is currently open to traffic. Motorists are encouraged to remain aware of ongoing emergency service activity in the area and to follow any traffic management measures.

Westmeath County Council wish thank all responding agencies for their assistance, professionalism and cooperation throughout the incident. The Fire Service also thanked members of the public for their patience and understanding while emergency operations continue.

A spokesperson for Westmeath Fire and Rescue Service told the Westmeath Examiner crews are working on “preventative maintenance".

"It's been burning since Wednesday. We arrived yesterday and conditions had really deteriorated.

“The wind wasn’t helping the conditions, it was quite strong. It was fanning the flames and moving the fire much quicker than normal. It was moving at possibly 15 meters a minute, so it was quite difficult to get ahead of it.”

The Westmeath Fire and Rescue Service then made the decision to bring in helicopters to help fight the flames. “We got them in because the fire had gone into an area that firefighters could not enter.

“The terrain was too rough but it was good to be able to fight the fire from the air and the helicopters provided that for us.”

The spokesperson added: “It will possibly continue to burn until we get a heavy fall of rain. We’re trying to dampen areas that could potentially reignite into what we had yesterday.”

While forest fires on this scale are not common, wildfires are at this time of year.

“I have seen it before many times but not for over 10 years have I seen something of this size. Wildfires are never nice, they always cause hazards, as you’ve seen in Europe.

“We’re lucky that the land here it’s quite flat, so we don’t have that really high, rough terrain that other countries would have that makes it impossible to fight where you need to.

“We wouldn't need the likes of airplanes or seaplanes and all that.

“Counties that have higher ground might need that but we’re lucky enough, we’ve just got bogs and a bit of forestry.

“But with everything drying up so much, it gives huge risk for the likes of forestry and bogs that are adjacent to them - that’s the hazard.”

As the hot weather is forecast to continue for the next week, the fire service spokesperson urges people to use common sense and act with caution.

“I’d ask them to be cautious of where they are having barbecues and lighting fires to burn off dead growth - this time of year you don’t want to be doing that because it’s just too dry.”

On whether bog and forest fires will occur more often, he said: “God you would hope not. You can’t rule it out, and it’s something we think about operations wise.

“If it’s something that’s going to be more frequent, we should consider procuring more of the equipment suitable for these types of fires.”