Fire fighters save electricity sub-station as blaze sweeps through wind farm and forest

Fire crews from two stations are this evening battling a major blaze which swept through a wind farm, forestry and bogland in Co. Clare.

The alarm was raised at around 11.45am today when the Munster Regional (Fire) Control Centre received a report of a fire in the vicinity of the wind farm at Tullabrack near Kilrush in west Clare.

Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Kilrush and Kilkee stations were mobilised to the incident and on arrival discovered a raging blaze which had spread over a large area.

Located not far from the sea, strong onshore winds hampered efforts to tackle the fire which quickly spread into forestry and across a significant area of bogland. It’s feared that several hundred acres may be affected.

Fire service personnel wearing breathing apparatus or safety masks tackled a number of small fires, but the blaze spread so quickly it was difficult to gain any control.

Firefighters have prevented the fire engulfing a wooden shed while later, as the blaze spread across the land, there was concern that an electricity sub-station at Ballykett could be in danger.

The fire reached to within feet of the station perimeter, but the design and location of the facility and the wind turbines, meant there was no threat to them.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known while firefighters are expected to be at the scene until late tonight.