LAST UPDATE | 28 Jun 2018

THE IRISH AIR Corps has been called in as fire crews in Co Wicklow have been working to protect homes after a number of fires have broken out in the county.

Conditions have showed no sign of cooling off today, as top temperatures across the country have ranged between 26 and 30 degrees, according to Met Éireann.

An official request came into the Defence Forces for assistance in dealing with gorse fires in Lower Lough Bray and Liffey Head Bog this evening.

Meanwhile, Wicklow Fire Service tweeted today that its Bray and Greystones crews were working to protect a school and houses in Kilmacanogue.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, local independent councillor Christopher Fox confirmed that a decision was made at around 1pm this afternoon to move children from a school in Kilmacanogue to its sports pitches due to fires nearby.

Fox said that the school is located next to scrub land and mountain land.

He said that there had been numerous fires on that land over the past few days.

However, he said: “Today, it had got very close to some houses and the school, obviously. It had been contained more on the mountain in previous days.”

Parents of the students were notified of the situation and Fox said that the children were moved onto the school’s sports pitches.

Dublin mountains

Elsewhere, Dublin Fire Brigade has been battling a number of gorse fires around the county today.

A forest fire has broken out at the Lugg and Slade Valley mountain area.

A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade said that a number of resources have been tackling the fire throughout the day and that they received assistance from the Irish Air Corps earlier today.

The spokesperson said there had been a number of small fires in the area since Saturday and that there are now forest areas and trees on fire.

He added that while it is a relatively rural area, there are some houses in the local vicinity which officers are monitoring to determine whether they need to be evacuated.

He appealed to the public not to travel to areas where there are gorse fires to look at them.

“Even if people are going to recreational areas, leave gateways clear in case we need to access them,” he said.

Four appliances from Dublin Fire Brigade have also been battling a grass and gorse fire in Tolka Valley, Finglas.