Drone Footage of recent Bray Head Gorse Fire

Calibos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUkRpSadL_A

B0jangles

Even worse than I though it would be If it was lit intentionally I can only hope the feckers who did it got a bit scorched,to put it mildly.

DubOnHoliday

I run trails on Bray head regularly. It's very sad to see so much natural habitat destroyed.

eeguy

Fantastic quality and camera work.

Shame about the habitats, though it will be back to full strength in a few years.

Fleawuss

That's very good footage. If only the there was none of the music!

BoJack Horseman

Is there no fire-fighting plane or helicopter that can dump water on it?

Alun

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Is there no fire-fighting plane or helicopter that can dump water on it?

When there was that big fire on Ireland's Eye a while back either the Air Corps or the Coastguard dropped some water there.

vicwatson

This happens on a regular basis specially round the sugar loafs

Thargor

Notice how that tiny side trail to the main one on the north side that leads down into the forest acts as such an effective fire break, basically saved 50% of the hill from burning, even though its barely wide enough to walk without getting snagged in bushes on both sides.

Calibos

Thargor wrote: »

Notice how that tiny side trail to the main one on the north side that leads down into the forest acts as such an effective fire break, basically saved 50% of the hill from burning, even though its barely wide enough to walk without getting snagged in bushes on both sides.

Lucky the wind was blowing from the west or else the flames would have easily jumped the path.

Would be a great opportunity to collect a few decades worth of discarded/thrown glass bottles and cans. Its not like you'd have to do the whole hill, just throwing distance either side of any of the trails.

Also, is it my imagination but I seem to remember most of the burnt gorse area on the front was actually forest up till as recently as the 80's until it was burnt down??? Or like I said, am I imagining it?

loyatemu

gorse recovers quickly, forest does not, so presumably if an area of forest gets burnt down it'll quickly be colonised by gorse and the forest won't grow back?

B0jangles

Another big fire up there today The strong southerly breeze can only.make things a Lot worse. The people who live in the farm on the shoulder of the head must be worn out with the stress.

Calibos

There's gob****es still up at the cross. They don't realise how quickly the fire will race towards them never mind the smoke if the wind changes.

I hope it doesn't come too far down the front, both for the safety of the owners of Eagles nest and their property but also for the sake of the last remains of the woods on the head.

Alun

I can see the smoke from where I am (near Ardmore Studios). Looks like it's heading North along the coast, and also visible on the Bray Sailing Club webcam looking out over the harbour.

Dr Strange

The cloud is huge.

B0jangles

Is Eagles Nest the farm on the side of the head? I hope they've gotten out, the whole area is completely covered in thick smoke, looks extremely dangerous

d31b0y

In one of the buildings at the front of the Bray business park and have a perfect view of it from here. We were wondering if it was a controlled burn. Obviously not though. Looks like it's dieing away now. Not sure if there are fire fighters up there.

heebusjeebus

Can smell the burn from Sandyford and see a dirty looking cloud bank by the coast.

Alun

My wife is out in Leopardstown and has just emailed me to ask if there's something up as she can both see and smell it from there.

B0jangles

This was before it got up over the top of the Head.

B0jangles

According to RTE on twitter there are 3 fire engines up there now trying to put it out:

https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/765552533536436224

B0jangles

Just heard from someone who was playing golf in Bray just now that there are multiple fire engines up there trying to keep this house from going on fire:

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Bray+Head/@53.1842785,-6.0869887,360m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4867a8f6438b3bb7:0x4f001140cf5c6b1b!8m2!3d53.190528!4d-6.084167

Thargor

Saw some smoke at lunch but barely a few wisps, an hour later it had really ramped up, huge flames all along the ridge from near the cross to the far side of the golf course.

PandaPoo

Just took this from my window. Worst I've seen by far!

Dr Strange

According to Dublin City Council Traffic Management the cloud stretches as far as Dublin Airport:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0816/809740-bray-head-fire/

RayM

The view from Castle St. at around 3pm.

Del.Monte

It's long overdue that Bray Head was purchased by the State and some sort of ranger system introduced. As long as I can remember (mid-1960s) gougers have been setting fire to the place.

dbagman

Funny I was working up near enniskerry today and could see it. I was amazed by it and mentioned those "feckin wasters lighting fires" to the owner of the house and she informed me it's a controlled fire and they happen all the time to stop the gorse from getting out of hand.

DubOnHoliday

From the train, it looks like there's a fire over on the Scalp as well, which was on fire last week too.

shar01

I was parked on the seafront in Dun Laoghaire and there was ash on my windscreen.

With the fire on Carricknagolligan and Bray Head last week, I'm wondering is there a firebug on the loose.

Del.Monte

dbagman wrote: »

Funny I was working up near enniskerry today and could see it. I was amazed by it and mentioned those "feckin wasters lighting fires" to the owner of the house and she informed me it's a controlled fire and they happen all the time to stop the gorse from getting out of hand.

Some of it maybe controlled but a great deal of the fires down the years have been caused by feral youths. Anyway, most of Bray Head is of little agricultural value and its beyond me why it hasn't been the subject of a CPO years ago.

I had intended bring my kids up there today, but fortunately was too busy to go in the end. I won't bother now.

r93kaey5p2izun

My eyes are stinging here in Dun Laoghaire. Thought I could faintly smell smoke an hour ago but it has gotten stronger so checked online and saw this news. Glad I changed my mind about Bray today! Awful to think this was done deliberately.

Annasopra

Saw a fire engine going up about 7pm.

Thargor

What do you mean by going up?

Annasopra

Thargor wrote: »

What do you mean by going up?

Driving up the laneways from the top of newcourt road.

Thargor

Oh right, I was going to say why are they bothering there but looking at it from the Boghall Road now I see fires burning all over the top, hope the house with the horses half way up is okay, Id say a big chunk of the forest at the top of the route from the Vevay Road/Southern Cross roundabout has burned.

Alun

I think the wind direction has shifted a bit. The air is pretty smelly outside here now.

loyatemu

Del.Monte wrote: »

It's long overdue that Bray Head was purchased by the State and some sort of ranger system introduced. As long as I can remember (mid-1960s) gougers have been setting fire to the place.

who owns the top of the head? Is it still part of the Meath estate?

Del.Monte

loyatemu wrote: »

who owns the top of the head? Is it still part of the Meath estate?

I would have imagined so but I'm not sure. Take Bray Head into public ownership, rebuild the Chairlift and Bray would really have a major amenity.

Muas Tenek

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

Saw a fire engine going up about 7pm.

Fire engines have been going up and down since lunchtime yesterday (probably to refill with water).
That is almost 22 hours of constant work.
A huge debt is owed to those wonderful men from Bray and Greystones fire brigades who not only dealt with this fire but also managed to control fires on the Sugarloaf and in the Delgany/Kilpedder/kilquade areas.
I hope some of you firefighters read this thread and realize how valuable you are to all of us.
Rest well guys after a job well done.

murpho999

Del.Monte wrote: »

I would have imagined so but I'm not sure. Take Bray Head into public ownership, rebuild the Chairlift and Bray would really have a major amenity.

I actually think it would ruin the landscape and there would be too many people on the head.

d31b0y

It's ablaze again now...

B0jangles

Yeah, was just passing up the putland Hill and there is visible flame again

Annasopra

It has to be someone doing it on purpose

eeguy

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

It has to be someone doing it on purpose

The fire could smoulder for days in a tree trunk or something, then catch again when the wind is just right. Doubt someone is just lighting it up for sh*ts and giggles.

Alun

About an hour ago as I was driving down Boghall Rd. I could see one small area above the golf club that was burning and still producing a lot of smoke, but not much else. Hopefully the heavy rain over the next few days will solve the problem, for the time being anyway.

HighLine

More recent aerial footage from yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTOusQBqR2s

Del.Monte

murpho999 wrote: »

I actually think it would ruin the landscape and there would be too many people on the head.

I don't see why. In the 1960s when Bray had a lot more visitors and the chairlift was operating there was no problem. Chairlift or not, Bray Head needs a rethink while it's still worth doing something about.

Thargor

After all that rain there were still clouds of steam and a smell of smoke coming off it at 8pm, the stream at the bottom was jet black like an oil slick aswell.

Calibos

After looking at the new drone footage, I think at this stage they should have just created a firebreak to protect the trees and building at the edge of the golf club land and actually torched all remaining patches of gorse just to be done with it for the next few years.

ted1

DubOnHoliday wrote: »

I run trails on Bray head regularly. It's very sad to see so much natural habitat destroyed.

Gorse fires are part of nature and regrowth is pretty fast. Nothing sad about it