Galway Bay fm newsroom - Emergency response crews are meeting this morning to determine their next course of action as the massive forest fire in Connemara rages on.
After some respite early yesterday, the blaze at Cloosh Valley near Oughterard escalated due to high winds and warm temperatures
Coillte staff, along with the fire service, army and air corps, are continuing their battle to bring the fire under control.
At Galway Wind Park, Ireland’s largest wind farm, Galway Fire Service is on site to tackle fire events in close proximity to wind farm infrastructure.
Coillte says the forest fire at Cloosh is also threatening the welfare of many homes and local communities, as well as causing devastation to vast areas of wildlife habitat.
The fire at Cloosh currently comprises three separate fronts, the longest of which spans 8km.
In total, around 1,500 hectares of forestry and 2,000 of bog land has been destroyed - an area five times the size of Dublin's Phoenix Park.
Last evening, changing winds brought a plume of smoke over Salthill and Galway city, and was eventually carried as far east as Loughrea.
A meeting of the emergency reponse teams is now underway to determine the course of action for today.
