A change in wind direction stopped a mile-long fire on the Mourne Mountains spreading to a nearby caravan park.
Hundreds of residents at Bonny's Caravan Park on the Tullybrannigan Road in Newcastle were evacuated on Sunday night after a fire broke out on the side of Tollymore Forest Park.
At the height of the incident, 55 firefighters were on the scene trying to bring it under control.
Mourne Mountains fire tackled by emergency services
Speaking to Belfast Live this morning, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Group Commander Eddie Carroll said the change in wind direction stopped the blaze moving towards the caravan park.
"It was a serious incident and crews worked tirelessly in challenging and difficult conditions," he said.
Two crews stayed at the scene overnight and residents from the caravan park and homes on the Tullybrannigan Road were allowed to return to their properties in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Carroll said he was informed 200-270 people were evacuated from the caravan park last night. The Newcastle Centre, a Council-run leisure centre in the County Down town, was opened for people evacuated due to the fire.
At this stage he said it was too early to confirm the cause of the fire but said most gorse fires are started deliberately and urged people to be vigilant on Easter Monday.
Mourne Mountain Rescue Team, police, and council officials were also at the scene on Sunday night.
Sinn Féin MP Chris Hazzard said: "I’d like to commend the efforts of the firefighters and the Fire and Rescue Service for their work in tackling this blaze and thankfully no one was injured.
"Efforts will now be underway to determine the cause of the blaze and I’d like to remind everyone to behave responsibly while using the forest park in order to protect the environment and the everyone’s safety."
Local Councillor Willie Clarke added: "I was with those who were evacuated to Newcastle Leisure Centre and it was clearly a frightening experience for many of them.
"I’d like to commend the staff at the leisure centre for their excellent work in opening up the facilities, providing a welcome and comforting those who were evacuated."
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