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Heatwave
Firefighters tackle large forest blaze on Slieve Bloom
Roads have been closed and helicopter water drops are taking place.
FIRE SERVICES IN Laois and Offaly are tackling a blaze that has broken out on the Slieve Bloom mountains.
Laois County Fire & Rescue Service said that crews from Mountrath & Mountmellick are working with colleagues from the Offaly Fire & Rescue Service along with Coillte to contain a large fire on Slieve Bloom.
Helicopter water drops are taking place to try to bring the fire under control.
The Cut Road between Clonaslee and Mountrath has been closed, and ‘feeder roads’ from Kinnitty, Cadamstown, Mountmellick to Slieve Blooms should be avoided, fire services said.
Please do not travel to view the fire as you will hamper operations. Wind directions can quickly change and you may become isolated and trapped by fire spread.
On Monday, a family escaped their car which had left the road on the Dublin Mountains after smoke from a heather fire suddenly changed direction.
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Offaly Fire and Rescue Services issued a warning on Facebook asking people not to light any fires and to report a fire if you see it.
Again we cannot emphasis the importance of not disposing of cigarettes out of car windows when travelling. We are asking that you do not light any fires, either for farming or any other reason.
As we are currently involved in a significant forest fire we ask the public to assist us in limiting the potential for further outbreaks.
“We all have a responsibility to the environment and our local economy to limit the potential for these fires to start,” it said.
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