More than 140 wildfires are rural arson, says minister

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said it has dealt with 146 wildfires since midnight on Thursday.

It comes after a major incident was declared at the weekend when a large wildfire broke out near the Mourne Mountains, and led to homes being evacuated. That blaze is being treated as arson.

Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir described the wildfires as "rural arson" adding that if the fires do not stop homes could be "burnt down, people killed and serious environmental consequences beyond which we have seen in recent days and weeks".

Firefighters are continuing to tackle two wildfires - one at Bloody Bridge near Newcastle and another at Silent Valley near Kilkeel.

There was also a wildfire in the Ben Crom area, and another involving forestry in Dervock, County Antrim.

Muir said the unfolding situation "is really concerning" and he intends to visit the area and meet residents on Monday evening.

NIFRS area commander David Harbinson said the Bloody Bridge fire was "potentially going to impact on Slieve Donard".

"The incident that we have ongoing here now [at Bloody Bridge] we have 34 personnel in attendance and we have four appliances," he added.

"We have currently 19 people deployed up on to the mountain and they are involved in firefighting operations."

He said there was no water access and officers were physically beating out the fire.

"We estimate there is a mile fire front down into the valley and then we have to be concerned whether it travels up the other side, so that's constantly being monitored," he said.

He said drones had been deployed to monitor the area and this was being kept under review.

Earlier, Danny Ard, of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster that since midnight on Thursday the NIFRS received 997 calls, 146 of which were gorse fire-related.

"It's been quite pressured for us and challenging," Mr Ard said.

Mr Ard said a "significant number" of wildfires were deliberate.

"The idea of the barbecue and the idea of the campfire is nice but they haven't taken the precautions that you'd reasonably expect someone to take."

A national hazards management yellow wildfire warning remains in place across Northern Ireland.

BBC News NI weather presenter Barra Best said this means that while wildfires remain likely, they are expected to be manageable.

"Easterly winds, which helped fan the flames over the weekend, are forecast to ease in the coming days - taking some pressure off those fighting the flames," he added.

An amber warning had been in place since Friday.

Speaking to Good Morning Ulster, Muir said a strategic wildfire group was established following the 2021 fire, which identified a need for a wildfire management plan for a number of areas, including the Mournes.

"We went to tender on that in the beginning of this year and unfortunately we didn't get any successful responses. That perhaps demonstrates this is an issue beyond Northern Ireland," he said.

Sinn Féin MP for South Down Chris Hazzard was critical of Muir for not visiting the Mournes over the weekend.

"I would have liked to have seen him over the weekend. We need to see real proactive leadership from Daera on this. They need to prove they're much more than a department for farming," he told Good Morning Ulster.

"There really must be no more delay, we need the fire prevention management plan that was promised to us following a major fire in the Mourne Mountains in 2021."

Martin McMullan from Mourne Mountain Rescue said: "There would have been thousands of people out in the Mournes, right over the weekend as well as yesterday.

"It's very, very concerning when you have such a volume of people entering an area and could end up being entrapped by a wildfire."

He said he does not want people to stop going out, but said people need to be "very conscious of where there are wildfires at present".

The law in Northern Ireland states that the burning of vegetation such as heather, gorse, whin or fern may only be carried out between 1 September and 14 April.

Last month, farmers and land managers were advised by Daera, the fire service and police to take all necessary precautions to ensure any burning did not turn into a wildfire.

Hazzard has called for a "review of the legal burn period", and this has been welcomed by Muir.

"I know that will be difficult, particularly for the farming community but I think we need to have a conversation about moving to a similar set up in the Republic of Ireland around this," the agriculture minister said.

Before any prescribed burning, those involved are advised to alert NIFRS headquarters to discuss the details.

A number of homes were evacuated on Saturday after the large wildfire broke out on Sandbank Road.

Speaking to BBC News NI, one resident said: "The police came and shouted, 'Police, I need you to evacuate'. That was 3am, so I got myself together and they took me to my other son's house.

"It was all burning, it was all in flames at that stage, a lot of smoke, a fair bit of smoke. Thankfully the firefighters, all those people, got it all sorted."

On Sunday, NI Water said Silent Valley Mountain Park would be closed until further notice due to the fires.

The Silent Valley Reservoir had recently reopened its gates to the public after being closed for more than nine weeks because of damage caused by Storm Éowyn.

Multiple wildfires have been reported in the Mourne Mountains in recent weeks.

Some of them are thought to have been started deliberately.

The Mourne Mountains are located in County Down and are designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

A compact range, they include Northern Ireland's highest peak, Slieve Donard, and a dozen or so other major summits.

The mountains are popular with lovers of the outdoors.

Large tracts are held in public ownership, but significant sections are actually privately-owned farmland.

Northern Ireland Water is one of the biggest landowners in the mountains and purchased 9,000 acres in the 1900s to secure a supply of drinking water for the growing city of Belfast.

The National Trust is another significant landowner.