MOURNES FIRE: '500 acres of cherished habitat now in ruins'
It has been a devastating few days for the famous Mourne mountains with a gorse fire, now believed to have been started deliberately, ripping relentlessly through some of Northern Ireland's best-known beauty spots. Downtown Radio & Cool FM Reporter SARAH MCKINLEY spent the day seeing at first hand the shocking aftermath.
I was heading for the Saddle, where the Mourne Wall guides walkers to the summit of Slieve Donard, when I received the message from the Fire Service.
“The fire, which covered 3.5 square kilometres and started in the early hours of Friday 23 April, is believed to have been started deliberately."
My job is to be objective - but padding a through crispy, black, ash covered wasteland, this was a difficult challenge.
A total of 500 acres of habitat, cherished by many and lived in by a variety of species, has been ruined.
It’s nesting season, and this fire has destroyed the home of birds, notably Skylarks and Meadow pipits.
And know we know it was reckless and preventable.
We also realise the rescue personnel, who were plunged headfirst into a perilous situation on steep terrain and faced with an inferno, did so to rectify a man-made situation.
There is a 3.5km squared area where life has been extinguished and we are told it could take years for some of these wounds to heal.
But the views are still magnificent.
The Glen River still gurgles down the mountainside.
Birds are still chirping in the forestry which is still lush and green.
As for the local people, who are hurt by what has unfolded? If their will and generosity to emergency services could heal these scars, the place will be an oasis of life again in no time.