More than over 1,280 hectares of forestry were destroyed by fire in 2010, causing damage worth almost €7 million, forestry companies and the gardai revealed today.
Launching a campaign against uncontrolled burning of vegetation and scrub, the authorities estimated damage to State-owned Coillte lands at €3.5 millon with some 788 hectares of forestry – described as a valuable export crop – being destroyed.
The situation in private forests was even worse with timber worth €3.45 million being lost across 500 hectares of private woodland.
Warning that fines and prison terms of up to a year were in place for those who start fires by accident, gardaí said they believed most fires were started accidentally through traditional clearance of scrub and other unwanted vegetation.
Clearance by burning usually gets underway around March 1st, but the authorities said recent very cold winters had resulted in "tinder box" conditions with dead and dried out vegetation causing a 300 per cent increase in fires last year.
While burning has become an accepted practice the gardaí said farmers and land owners should be aware it was illegal to burn within one mile of forestry without written and timely notice to the fire brigade and gardaí.
The notice must be given between seven and thirty-five days in advance and failure to provide written notice alongside detailed safety measures could see the culprit spending up to a year in prison. Penalties for criminal damage – that is in relation to fires started deliberately – are even more sever and could see those convicted spending up to five years in prison.
Launching an information campaign aimed at landowners and farmers Superintendent Fergus Healy said an inspector had been appointed to each Garda division to investigate forest fires and determine the cause.
Superintendent Healy emphasised the threat that land and forest fires present to people's lives and property. "It is the responsibility of every member of the community, particularly those living near wooded areas, to comply with the legislation and undertake burning in a controlled manner.
"Any person intending to burn within one mile of a wooded area must inform their local Garda station in writing, no less than seven days in advance. Anyone who undertakes burning in such an area without notifying An Garda Síochána is committing an offence.
The superintendent also said landowners and farmers should make themselves aware of the necessary precautions relating to controlled burning by contacting the local fire services for advice or visit the garda website www.garda.ie.
"The advice is simple. If you intend to light a fire on your premises, notify us. Be responsible and take the necessary precautions. And if you see a fire, contact the emergency services immediately by calling 112 or 999."
