Fire crews in Kerry have responded to 56 hill fires in the last three days.
Kerry County Council says a spate of fires on hills, in forests and on bogs has put the county's fire service under extreme pressure.
Fourteen call-outs were dealt with on Sunday, 18 on Monday and a further 24 blazes were tackled yesterday.
Firemen on the Dingle Peninsula fought a large fire in Dún Chaoin. The fire, which went out of control on Cruach Mhárthain, threatened a number of houses.
The Dingle unit began fighting the blaze at 4pm and they were later supported by units from Tralee and Killorglin.
The firemen had to traverse rough terrain and use beaters to suppress the fire.
Hill fire still burning out of control over Dún Chaoin #WestKerry . Additional crews have now arrived from Killorglin and Tralee to support the Dingle firemen. They say they are exhausted. Fighting these fires for the past week. pic.twitter.com/ObJY1EM6zI
— Seán Mac an tSíthigh (@Buailtin) March 1, 2023
They remained on the mountain into the early hours of the morning and eventually managed to redirect the fire away from the houses. The fire continued to burn on the upper slopes of Cruach Mhárthain this morning.
Chief officer of the Dingle Fire Brigade, Breandán Feirtéar, said it was a very difficult night for the crews.
"It was a massive fire and the ground was very dry, so it was running fast. There were a few houses directly in its path - some with forestry around them - but thankfully we were able to shift the direction of the fire up in to the mountain."
The Kerry Fire Service responded to a number of other fires last night in Inch, Slieve Mish, on the Iveragh peninsula and in the Sneem/Kenmare area.
