The 24-hour battle to bring huge Ballygawley fire under control

FIREFIGHTERS have extinguished a major gorse fire near Ballygawley after a 24-hour battle with the blaze.

It was an extremely busy few days for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) which received nearly 1,000 emergency calls as wildfires swept through parts of the North – including a major blaze in the Sperrin Mountains and a smaller gorse fire near Castlederg.

The fire near Ballygawley, first reported at 2pm on Tuesday, has scorched more than 250 acres of land near the Whitebridge Road, according to Group Commander Patsy Begley from Pomeroy station.

“We have it mostly out now,” he told the Ulster Herald on Wednesday afaternoon.

“What remains are smaller hot spots that crept up throughout the day, but the main blaze has been extinguished. Our focus last night was protecting nearby homes. Today, we’re making sure the fires don’t spread to forestry.”

On Tuesday evening, around 80 firefighters and 15 appliances were deployed to tackle the 1.7-mile-long blaze, with support from a drone unit and NIE, who provided an off-road vehicle to assist in the effort.

“Today we have 35 firefighters, five appliances, a water tanker and a command station at the scene,” Mr Begley said.

He added that while the fire is believed to have been started deliberately, it likely wasn’t done with malicious intent. In total, 267 acres have been burned.

“This might be the worst dry spell since around 2010,” he said.

HORSES RESCUED FROM FIRE

A short distance away, a mixed crew of firefighters had just finished tackling a smaller blaze on the Millix Road.

Omagh Crew Commander Shane O’Neill said he has been working back-to-back shifts across the North since Thursday.

“I was up at the Sperrins, then Castlederg the next day, Bloody Bridge after that – and now I’ve been here all day,” he said. “Hopefully today will be the end of it. But there are still a few fires ongoing in the area.”

DUP councillor Mark Robinson said the scale of the blaze had been ‘horrendous’ and praised the emergency services for their efforts.

“This incident has been very unfortunate as as we have seen it has put a lot of pressure on our emergency services.

“The sheer scale and scope of this fire has been horrendous and the damages to the local environment is still to be assessed,” said Cllr Robinson.

He added, “People need to be more considerate in this warm weather to avoid serious instances like this.”

Northern Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir paid tribute to emergency services, including NIFRS, PSNI and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, for their ongoing work.

“The scale of the destruction has been greatly reduced thanks to the preparedness of all agencies involved,” he stated.

“I am extremely disappointed to learn that fires continue to be deliberately lit in the Mournes. We need to call it what it is – rural arson. It puts lives at risk, devastates wildlife and habitats, threatens livestock, and impacts local residents and businesses.