Fire at popular walkway in Waterford City devastates community

A fire, that appeared to have been started deliberately in an area of Waterford City, has devastated the community.

The fire was located in the Ballinakill Downs area of the city and is believed to have started at around 5.45pm on Friday evening.

In an online post one local described being "absolutely gutted and devastated" by what he described as a huge gorse fire.

It was located in an area that used by many people as a popular riverwalk.

"It is absolutely heartbreaking to think of the wildlife which will be affected by this fire coming on the back of mountain fires in Slievenamon, the Comeraghs and the Metal Man," said Eoghan Hartery, a resident and moderator of the Dunmore Road and Waterford East News Facebook page.

"Have these kids no sense or morals or have they not seen the devastation that other fires have caused in Waterford and the horror that homeowners and onlookers have experienced in the past two weeks," he added.

Mr Hartery had returned from putting out a small fire in a den in the woods and was checking to see if there was any other fire further up in the gorse another local called to say there was smoke coming from the gorse at Ballinakill.

"By the time I got down there the flames were already 20to 30 foot in the air and the black smoke partially blocking the island," he said.

Locals called the emergency services and it's believed a number of fire tenders went to the scene.

Mr Hartery said that he witnessed a number of fires in the area over the course of the last 26 years but that was the worst one.

"It will be another two to three years before the walkway will recover and the smell of burnt gorse will be there for weeks to come," he said.

"Our beloved Riverwalk has been destroyed my mindless vandalism, which is very sad to see," he added.

Anyone who may have seen people acting suspiciously in the area around that time is encouraged to contact Waterford Gardai.