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Fire crews from two stations are this evening battling a major blaze which swept through a windfarm, forestry and bogland in Co Clare.
The alarm was raised at around 11.45am today when the Munster Regional (Fire) Control Centre received a report of a fire in the vicinity of the windfarm at Tullabrack near Kilrush in west Clare.
Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Kilrush and Kilkee stations were mobilised to the incident and on arrival discovered a raging blaze which had spread over a large area.
Located not far from the sea, strong onshore winds hampered efforts to tackle the fire which quickly spread into forestry and across a significant area of bogland. It’s feared that several hundred acres may be affected.
Fire service personnel wearing breathing apparatus or safety masks tackled a number of small fires however the blaze spread so quickly it was difficult to gain any control.
Firefighters have prevented the fire engulfing a wooden shed while later, as the blaze spread across the land, there was concern that an electricity sub-station at Ballykett could be in danger.
The fire reached to within feet of the station perimeter however, the design and location of the facility and the wind turbines, meant there was no threat to them.
Firefighters also saved a number of beehives although some were also lost in the fire.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known while firefighters are expected to be at the scene until late tonight.
