‘Everything is lost’: Wildfires scar Ireland’s Wicklow landscapes
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Wildfires burned 240 hectares in Dublin’s Wicklow Mountains after more than 20 days of summer fires, damaging about 1% of the park.
- Conservation officials warned that lost vegetation could allow peat, ash and soil to wash away and increase flood risks in the River Dodder catchment.
- Fires also damaged 1,500 hectares on Slievenamon in Tipperary, including 65 hectares of Coillte forest, with extensive restoration costs expected.
“Everything is lost here,” said Ann Fitzpatrick, standing over land scorched by fires in Dublin’s Wicklow Mountains. The blaze burned for more than 20 days during the summer, leaving 240 hectares charred and creating what she described as an “apocalyptic landscape.”
Well, everything is lost here. There's nothing left. This is pretty much an apocalyptic landscape at the moment.
About 1% of the park was damaged, but conservation officials said the effects on biodiversity could be significant. The fire removed the vegetation and surface cover that support plants and animals, as well as the natural features that help the landscape perform its wider environmental functions.
Fitzpatrick warned that the hills are now at risk of losing peat and soil because vegetation no longer holds them in place. Cracked peat, ash and dust could be blown away, while heavy rain could wash material from the surface. The damaged area lies in the River Dodder catchment, where experts fear the land will absorb less rainfall than before.
We are at real risk of losing a lot of this soil or peat off the hills because there's no vegetation holding it here anymore.
A healthy bog contains vegetation and pools that retain rain and reduce downstream flood risks. Without those features, Fitzpatrick said, rainfall could move downhill with greater force. She hopes the damaged ground can eventually recover into a restored bog, with appropriate effort.
In a functioning bog, you'll have the vegetation, you'll have a system of pools that will trap the rainfall, and that reduces the risk of floods downstream.
Further south, fires destroyed 1,500 hectares on Slievenamon in Tipperary in July, including 65 hectares of Coillte forest. Coillte communications manager Pat Neville said the trees were completely burned and destroyed. The response includes the cost of fighting the fire, the loss of standing timber, and the expense of replanting and restoring the forest. Neville also said plants, animals and wildlife had little chance to escape the intense heat.
As you can see around us, the trees are completely burned and destroyed.
About this summary
Originally published by RTÉ News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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