Warning Issued As Irish Wildfire Season Gets Underway

0:00Now, we move on to another issue, which is warning being issued as Irish wildfire season gets underway, because Quilch and the National Parks and Wildlife Service have kicked off wildfire season with a stark warning. They say humans are to blame for almost every forest fire in this country and a curled spark from a campfire or disposable barbecue can devastate wildlife and destroy habitats at four decades. Joining us this morning on this, our Pat Neville Communications Manager at Quilch and we're also joined by John Lines as a committee member with the 12 o'clock hills and thanks to both of you for joining us on the show this morning. The Quilch is saying almost every forest fire in Ireland is started by people, mentioned I guess some of the most common causes, barbecues, campfires, that kind of thing. Are people just being reckless? Are they underestimating how dangerous these situations can be? Is it unintended consequences? What is leading to these human-started forest fires happening, do you think?

1:01Good morning, and thanks for having me on the show. Yeah, that's exactly it. I experience forest fires almost never start from natural sources. It's always a man-made source ignition. And whether that's a campfire or a barbecued dissolution in the outdoors and not extinguished properly or someone burning land-clear vegetation in dry conditions or windy conditions that can get out of control very, very quickly and cause very, very significant damage. From your perspective, John, what do you make of this? Is this something you see at the 12 o'clock hills on any sort of regular or regular basis? Has it caused issues in the past, be it people camping or barbecues and have there been any serious or even semi-serious incidents? Good morning, Alan. Good morning, Pash. The fire that was opened at 12 o'clock hills last year was just ridiculous to where it was started. It was started by some people burning the core of copper wire. In the near future, the forest just offered to walk was and obviously it was started on

2:03a windy day and there was a huge area of the forestry destroyed. I walked it just a day and then like all those trees are all burnt and some of them are actually falling down at a minute. So I suppose, first of all, I suppose we have to be very grateful to Quilchia for allowing us to have our walk children. Yesterday afternoon, there was Capac was folded out and I would say 99.9% of the people that used the woods and use the walks are really compliant with what we want. But on sand as I see in one of the plastic furniture sets in the top of the tent with our kids, somebody made about here, tried to lay a fire on it, which is absolutely ridiculous. So it takes it to stride the forest, it's a huge cost for Quilchia, last year there was a helicopter driver quite a long time trying to put out that fire and the host militiously started, but it shouldn't have happened and it's huge cost, huge devastation. And it doesn't do all the same if you ever see the walk that you know.

3:05And past as John says, I'm thinking about if a forest fire happens, it's not a quick fix. You know, it can take some time for an area and people, a lot of people enjoy the 12 o'clock hills and the significant part of that is going to take quite a while to recover. And you see that situation replicated elsewhere in the country where forest fires have been started. Thanks John, that's exactly as forest fires are extremely dangerous. They cause extensive and significant damage. So firstly, I actually to say maybe to advise the public never approach a forest fire, they can move quite quickly and the smoke can get very thick, very quickly. So we see a forest fire, all those calls the emergency services, but they have very, very serious consequences. So basically they put the lives of the firefighting personnel at risk. So if that's Quilchia staff or the NPWS staff or the emergency services staff as well, they'll have to control and contain the fire. They cause massive environmental damage. So the forest itself or the open mountains can be completely destroyed and habitats that

4:09take years and decades to grow can be wiped out overnight. And wildlife as well, this time of the year, you've ground messing birds and mammals with their young and dense and said can't escape the fires as well. And then thirdly, there's a significant cost for forest owners, Quilchia or private owners to cost to control the forest fire. The cost of the loss of the standing timber and the same destroyed and the cost to reestablish the forest. So that's the really frustrating thing, as John said there, they don't start naturally. So our messages, if we're all more careful in the countryside when we're out in the bay this year, we could reduce the number of forest fires that we have. And John, how do we go about that? Is it about more education, more awareness of the risks of forest fires and the behaviors that can lead to them? Or should there be, or maybe along with that, stricter enforcement or penalties for those who cause fires? You see, Alan, we have signed this year now on the way up to the forestry and stuff like that. And it's, you know, it's with the best will in the world, you know, somebody drops a

5:09cigarette when the weather's really dry and, you know, usually it's happily held as a good breeze to flame the fire and, you know, it's difficult, but I'm saying that we need to warn people and people need to be aware of, you know, we run someone else's property first of all. Quilchia also goes towards for a loaners go through the woods. So it's important that we respect that. And I do believe, you know, as I said, 99% of our people do that, but I'm saying that it only takes one person like that fire, like that fire last year was, was, I don't know what it cost, but it was, it devastated a huge area of the, of the world up there, which is, you know, still won't be pretty for a long, long time to come. And so I suppose we can educate people, we can advise people, we can put signers there, but it's important that we do stuff it. And the other thing that Pat mentioned there, you know, who do fire stats in the forestry? Like I would know the forestry from being living here, but you know, access for people to get in to quench the fire isn't always easy. So the fire might be start to come over, but it's actually absolutely no access.

6:11And that causes problems as well. I just wonder from your perspective, Pat, what is the best way of reducing these incidences of forest fire, starting to be the intended or unintended is, you know, as, as, as John says, more signage at the 12 o'clock hills, all well and good, but is there more of a national awareness campaign needed, be radio TV and also should you think there should be stricter enforcement or penalties are the, are the potential penalties are fines that are there? Are they not prohibitive enough? I, I think, I think Alan, John, you're touching on something very important there and it's awareness. So a lot of times people might be aware that if I light my barbecue and leave it behind me, if I light a small campfire, it could have issues. And we just don't think that way. It can take just two or three kind of consecutive dry days in a row for the vegetation and the uplands and the forest to come very, very dry and very flammable. So people might think a small fire might have any big consequences, but it really can.

7:11And you've seen it there in the 12 o'clock hills. So it's, that's exactly it. I don't know. Awareness that if people are aware that lighting fires in the outdoors could have serious consequences. I'm not to do that. And for people burning land for vegetation clearance as well, we're inside the burning season now. So we're not meant to burn land on again until September. So reminding people that there can be very significant consequences, health and safety, environmental, economic consequences to even a small fire. And that would make it big, big help. I think we have an open virus policy and culture and we're delighted to welcome walkers and groups into the forest. And if we're all a bit more mindful and a bit more, we think a little bit more, I behave more responsibly, then hopefully we can reduce the number of wildfires. So thanks to the shows like yourself and the work of people like John, to raise awareness and get people to think a little bit more about the consequences that might happen if they're burning the outdoors. Hopefully we could produce the number of fires. Okay. Hopefully we do see a serious reduction in them given how devastating they can be.

8:15My thanks to both of you, Jens, for being with us on the show this morning with that important to suppose warning or point or raising awareness of it, that's Pat Neville there. Communications manager Quilch and also with his John Lines committee member with the 12 o'clock hills in location.