The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) has said it believes the fire that occurred in the Mourne Mountains in Co. Down on Monday, March 17 was deliberate.
The NIFRS received a call at 6:42p.m on Monday evening with reports of a fire on the Mourne Mountains at the Altnadua Road, Castlewellan. Firefighters were called to reports of approximately 200m of gorse on fire.
Fire engines and support vehicles from Newcastle, Rathfriland, Downpatrick, Ballynahinch and Lisburn responded to the blaze, with a total of seven fire engines, one 4×4 vehicle, and a command support unit.
Six supervisory officers attended the scene along with 60 firefighters.
Firefighters used backpack sprayers and beaters to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is believed to have been deliberate ignition and the incident was dealt with by 12:27a.m.
In Northern Ireland, the closed period for burnings is April 15 to August 31.
Anyone burning heather, gorse, or whin within this time of the year is committing an offence under the Game Preservation Act (Northern Ireland) 1928.
In the Republic of Ireland under Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 (amended by Section 46 of the Wildlife Act 2000), it is an offence to burn any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated from March 1 to August 31 in any year.
In addition to penalties arising from breaches of the law, local authorities may impose a charge on the owners of property, or the occupiers of the property, in relation to fire service costs, where Fire and Rescue Services have to be called to deal with a fire.
In February this year, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) was investigating a fire in Barley Cove, on Mizen head in Co. Cork. The fire affected an area of special conservation, that is areas set outside for nature and wildlife in Ireland as designated under the EU Habitats Directive.
