June 30, 2014
Ireland

Fire at Cappaboy windfarm

The Southern Star | www.southernstar.ie

Three units of Bantry Fire Service fought a blaze when one of ten turbines at Cappaboy Beg windfarm caught fire last week.

Bantry Fire Station officer Ian Vickery said they were alerted to the fire – at the Pass of Keimaneigh.

‘The blades on one of the turbines went on fire. One blade sheared off and landed 200m away, setting fire to forestry and another landed 50m away, setting fire to hill and gorse,’ Mr Vickery said. A substantial area of rough grazing was burnt but very little of the young forestry was affected.

‘The object was to keep the fire away from the forest,’ he said. Maintenance people who were on site at the time of the fire raised the alarm. One local resident said he had heard a lot of ‘grinding’ from one of the turbines prior to the fire. Mr Vickery said a hill fire had endangered the turbines two years ago. The owner of the wind farm, Tim Buckley, declined to comment.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/06/30/fire-at-cappaboy-windfarm/