Drone Footage of recent Bray Head Gorse Fire

Del.Monte

ted1 wrote: »

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

Of course you're right - nothing to do with vandalism and wildlife habitat being destroyed during the breeding season. :rolleyes:

Thargor

Fairly wiped out up there, doubt any of the trees will die though, most just lost a few of the lower leaves:





















Found this little flame still burning in the forest after all that rain last night, the ground here was radiating heat like an oven, must still be smouldering underground even though it poured rain all evening and most of the night yesterday:

recedite

It will be interesting to see if those pine trees in the photos survive. Even though they haven't actually burned down, they might have been cooked.

There are people who plant saplings and create firebreaks up there. Its been ongoing for years. I spent a day helping a few years ago. We planted mostly birch and beech as far as I remember, trying to extend the small patchy pine forest area further up the hill and around the back of the head. Looking at the pictures now, I'm thinking some kind of pine trees would be more successful. The broadleaf trees don't grow too well on the rocky ground and may be more vulnerable to flame damage.
The people planting are all volunteers and the saplings are donated by the county council, probably not specifically grown/chosen for this exact project. Maybe it needs a more professional approach.

TBH I like the drama of seeing the gorse fires now and again, and it is a fairly natural process. But I'd prefer a larger area of forest up there, and have it separated from the gorse by an effective firebreak.

DubOnHoliday

ted1 wrote: »

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

Wanton destruction <> part of nature, so I'll disagree with you there.

Thargor

recedite wrote: »

It will be interesting to see if those pine trees in the photos survive. Even though they haven't actually burned down, they might have been cooked.

There are people who plant saplings and create firebreaks up there. Its been ongoing for years. I spent a day helping a few years ago. We planted mostly birch and beech as far as I remember, trying to extend the small patchy pine forest area further up the hill and around the back of the head. Looking at the pictures now, I'm thinking some kind of pine trees would be more successful. The broadleaf trees don't grow too well on the rocky ground and may be more vulnerable to flame damage.
The people planting are all volunteers and the saplings are donated by the county council, probably not specifically grown/chosen for this exact project. Maybe it needs a more professional approach.

TBH I like the drama of seeing the gorse fires now and again, and it is a fairly natural process. But I'd prefer a larger area of forest up there, and have it separated from the gorse by an effective firebreak.

Whereabouts are these hundreds of trees they say they planted in the Independent article? I dont remember seeing anything like that up there ever...

recedite

That looks like some of them in your photo # 5. They aren't very big. I have a feeling the survivors will always remain a bit stunted because of the rocky terrain and the exposure to wind.

ted1

Del.Monte wrote: »

Of course you're right - nothing to do with vandalism and wildlife habitat being destroyed during the breeding season. :rolleyes:

Breeding season ? Not this time of year.
Also not destroyed it'll be green again fairly soon

Del.Monte

ted1 wrote: »

Breeding season ? Not this time of year.
Also not destroyed it'll be green again fairly soon

Not having been a birdwatcher for many years I'm a bit out of touch with exact dates but I can assure you that plenty of species can still be breeding on Bray Head in August. The Stonechat which particularly likes gorse as a nest site can often have a second brood in August. Linnets, Yellowhammers, Wrens, Blackbirds and others can also still be nesting during August. Even those birds that have fledged the nest will be caught up in fires.

The point is that any gorse burning needs to be tightly controlled and hence my point - not addressed by anybody here - that the whole of Bray Head needs to be taken into State ownership and managed for the wildlife and public - rather than at the whim of feral youths and others.

DubOnHoliday

It would be a good opportunity now whilst the hill is bare to create better firebreaks with a view to keeping surprise burns under control.

fjon

recedite wrote: »

There are people who plant saplings and create firebreaks up there. Its been ongoing for years. I spent a day helping a few years ago. We planted mostly birch and beech as far as I remember, trying to extend the small patchy pine forest area further up the hill and around the back of the head. .

I was in a group that planted about 80-100 trees a few months ago. Most of them where on the path up to Bray Head from the Southern Cross roundabout, so I'm fairly sure those are ok. However there were a good chunk that we planted in an area with ferns in it that had been burned down before. I wouldn't imagine those survived. All that work for nothing

Yeah, I know it's part of nature and gorse is a plant that is very "flammable" and uses fire to disperse its seeds. I hope it doesn't impact too many of the other trees up there.
FWIW, these fires can be started deliberately (and there's always this speculation whenever it happens), but it can just as easily start from a discarded cigarette butt or something more innocent.

recedite

fjon wrote: »

Most of them where on the path up to Bray Head from the Southern Cross roundabout, so I'm fairly sure those are ok.

That's the newish path up through the golf course. It would be much nicer as a tree lined path alright, and a bit of leaf cover always helps to keep any path clear of the brambles.
I think the casualty rate is pretty high alright for any trees planted on Bray Head, but some of them are becoming established.

Mebuntu

Two new videos that show the fire damage along with some nice views. The second one is footage from a drone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXxPxC4E2Qc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0zerZNuCd8