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Gardaí believes that the youth in quads and scramblers may have caused a massive fire that continues to burn in the bogland in Co Kildare.
The fire next to the Bord Na Móna Drehid waste disposal plant started on Friday. It was controlled by several units of the Kildare Fire Service with the help of Air Corps helicopters that used “bambi buckets” to throw water on the flames.
However, the fire ignited again on Sunday due to strong winds in the area, raising local fears that it would spread to the landfill and cause the emission of toxic fumes.
The fire is under control but will continue to burn for some time, Kildare’s assistant fire chief Ben Woodhouse said. “It’s quite a show,” he said, shortly after returning from the scene on Monday. Several units remain in the area to ensure it remains contained.
The landfill is not in danger, but the fire continues to emit large amounts of smoke blowing in a southwesterly direction. Woodhouse advised locals who are elderly or have breathing difficulties to keep their windows closed.
The fire started in a bogland that is covered in bushes, trees and gorse. “It has damaged a lot of flora and fauna and I am sure there are many wildlife habitats,” said Woodhouse.
The land, which is located in Killinagh, near Carbury, is owned by Bord Na Móna and is privately owned. The company has filed a complaint with gardaí.
A Garda source said youths on motorcycles and quad bikes are believed to have started the fire inadvertently with their vehicles. Youth groups have been seen drinking and biking around the area in recent weeks.
“They will go there from Dublin, where it is relatively isolated to avoid {Covid-19]checkpoints and patrols on the roads, ”said one garda.
Bicycle engines, chains or leaks are believed to have ignited the dry brush.
Woodhouse said it cannot say whether the vehicles were responsible, but that firefighters saw “as many as 12 coders and quads in and around the area of the lands that caught fire.”
“Six weeks of dry weather”
Bord Na Móna staff had previously asked the youth to leave the area, since it is privately owned.
Scramblers and quads are a fire hazard, Woodhouse said, particularly due to “very, very dry conditions after six weeks of dry weather.” He called on people not to use bicycles in the area.
Local Social Democrat Cllr Aidan Farrelly said there was much local concern over the weekend about the environmental impact of the fire and the risk of toxic vapors from the landfill.
“If it was caused [by these bikes], at a time like this that is. . . irresponsible.”
Drehid’s landfill plant extracts gas from municipal waste and can produce up to 5.6 megawatts of renewable energy, enough to power 8,500 homes.
Drehid is one of the state’s largest landfills in the country, with a capacity of 120,000 tons per year and a composting facility of 25,000 tons per year.
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