AN area of bogland and gorse stretching for 10 square miles near Galway city was destroyed by a series of fires over the past two days, but firemen managed to save five houses which were threatened.
A number of families and livestock had to be evacuated from an area stretching from Furbo to Barna, a distance of six miles but no one was injured.
A total of five fire units from throughout Co Galway fought the fire on six fronts over 14 hours from about 6 p.m. on Wednesday. All the fires are believed to have been started by farmers clearing vegetation from their holdings, and followed a 10 day dry spell.
The fires spread easily because of a strong wind which blew throughout the night. The skyline west of the city was dramatically lit up by the fires, which wiped out an 80 acre forest in the course of their sweep inland.
A spokesman for Galway Fire Brigade confirmed that while the fires were not started maliciously, the gardai were investigating them in view of the threat to the public. "The gorse is being burned to clear a way for grazing. At the moment the gorse is extremely dry so dry that fires can spread very quick. It was potentially a dangerous situation."
One unit had to be diverted from Connemara yesterday morning to tend to a fire 10 miles away at Oranmore where farm buildings were completely destroyed. Two other units from Athenry assisted. The fire caught hold very quickly and killed eight sheep and 30 lambs, who were housed. The cause of the fire was not known.