A FIRE IN Maharees in Co Kerry has been put out by local community groups, residents and firefighters after it burned through three acres of sand dunes this morning.
Images and videos from the scene show the dunes tarred and black from the fire, which spread quickly due to the warm weather in the area.
What caused fire on Maharees Beach, located on a small tombolo about 24km from Dingle in Kerry, is still unknown however the Maharees Conservation Association (MCA) said it was “a reminder of how badly things can go”.
Martha Farrell, Director of MCA, told The Journal: ”We want to use this awful occurrence to raise the profile of sand dunes and the fragility of them – particularly in this weather. People can do better to help protect them.”
The MCA, a group which helps preserve the beach and the rest of the area, said on Facebook that while they wanted to avoid assigning blame, “in this fragile environment, a stray cigarette butt, even broken glass can set a devastating fire off”.
The dunes caught fire and it spread “quickly” according to the MCA.
Farrell said that the alarm was raised quickly in their local WhatsApp group and that staff members from the nearby Splash Watersports and a local restaurant went out to extinguish the fire.
The two watersports companies used large buckets and other tools they use for their businesses to help extinguish the fire until the fire brigade arrived 30 minutes later.
A spokesperson for Kerry County Council said: “One unit of the Kerry Fire Service attended this incident at lunchtime today, by which time the fire had been largely extinguished.”
Farrell said: “We were very lucky that we had a lot of brilliant visitors, community members who responded. That actually stopped the fire in its tracks.”
“If we want to protect our sand dunes, we have to camp at designated sites, not light fires on or near sand dunes, be careful with cigarette butts and how we dispose of our litter,” MCA said.
Jamie Knox, a surfing instructor and watersports business operator at the beach told The Journal that the fire spread very quickly and “got out of control”.
The MCA, which formed in 2016 after growing concern over erosion in the area from multiple storms, organises beach clean-ups, conserves plants and local wildlife and gives advice on wild camping and lighting fires.
Last week, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) appealed to the public not to light fires or barbecues in parks or nature reserves, following three blazes in a Co Wexford reserve in 24 hours.
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