Coronavirus measures have resulted in a drop in expected gorse fires so far this year, a senior fire officer has said.
Firefighters in the Wicklow Fire Service have seen a small reduction in wildfires as the general public heed to measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Senior Assistant Chief Fire Officer Michael Gahan, Wicklow Fire Service, heaped praise on the general public for obeying lockdown measures set in March which have attributed to the "downturn" in wildfires.
He told IrishMirror.ie: "The public have been very good in general over the course of the lockdown.
"People are staying away and sticking to guidelines. We would be expecting to have to deal with a lot more gorse fires at this stage of the year under usual circumstances.
"So I would like to thank the public for sticking to the guidelines.
"We have seen a small reduction however gorse fires are still continuing across different parts of the country and the fire service are asking the public to remain vigilant."
The senior fire officer added that the use of disposable BBQs would be "frowned upon" by the fire service.
He said the use of these BBQs in the mountains can heat up the ground causing it to possibly reignite after the owner leaves the area.
He said: "Wicklow Fire Service would like to ask the public, with the good weather, not to use disposable BBQs if they are in the Wicklow Mountains.
"These BBQs have caused a lot of incidents as they heat the ground and may reignite after the user has left the area.
"The owner might have meant no harm, but it could spark off leaving firefighters up on the mountainside tackling the fire.
"So we would frown on their use as they can take away resources that are needed elsewhere, especially during the pandemic."
