Two wildfires put out in Donegal

There had initially been concern for local homes, emergency services said

Firefighters have put out two wildfires in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

The fires broke out at Barnesmore Gap, which runs through the Bluestack mountains, and at Knockalla in the Fanad peninsula.

Donegal County Council's director of emergency services Garry Martin said there had initially been concern for local homes but efforts overnight had managed to limited the spread of the fires.

Five appliances and a helicopter helped extinguish the fires, Mr Martin said.

"It was quite a large fire and in very, very difficult terrain basically marching up the side of Barnesmore Gap and over bogland," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme earlier on Monday.

He said the terrain was "really difficult for our personnel".

"The only good thing that worked in our favour was the fact wind conditions were light and the fire didn't spread as quickly as it might have done otherwise," he said.

Barnesmore Gap connects Donegal town with Ballybofey.

Investigations are continuing to determine how the fire started

Fire crews and gardaí (Irish police) attended the scene overnight.

At one point, a helicopter was used to carry water from a local lake to help bring the fire under control.

Mr Martin said the fire at Barnesmore Gap was one of two that firefighters were tackling in the county over the weekend.

This fire at Barnesmore Gap was one of two that firefighters had to tackle in Donegal over the weekend

Crews are also worked to bring a fire at Knockalla in the Fanad peninsula under control.

With hot dry weather set to continue, Mr Martin has asked the public to avoid lighting any outdoor fires.

He said it was "too early" to say what caused the Barnesmore fire but added, "generally fires do not start themselves".

The operation to the bring the fire under control continues on Monday

A condition orange fire danger notice issued by the Irish government is in place until midday on Monday.

Last week, Donegal County Council had asked "landowners and members of the public to exercise caution and to take all necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of wildfires".