A CONDITION ORANGE forest fire warning has been issued by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine as warm weather is expected this weekend.

The warning was put in place at 12pm yesterday and is set to last until 12pm next Monday.

This is the first Condition Orange forest fire warning of 2022, with a Condition Yellow warning being issued on Monday before being upgraded yesterday.

In a statement, the Department of Agriculture said that a “high fire risk” is in place for any area where “hazardous fuels such as dead grasses and shrub fuels such as heather and gorse exist”.

“Current ignition risks appear to be mainly associated burning of vegetation in upland areas.

“Fire behaviour and rates of spread are likely to be influenced by lower daytime humidity levels and light to moderate wind speeds during the lifespan of this warning.”

Due to the warning, the Department are advising forest owners to prepare for outbreaks of fire on their land.

The Department has also called for farmers and people who live in rural areas to be “extremely vigilant” and to report suspicious or illegal activity to the Gardaí or any fire outbreaks to the Fire Service.

Anyone making a call to the fire service will not be billed for the call if reporting a fire outbreak, the Department said.