Hilltown: More than 100 firefighters tackle two-mile blaze as 'major incident' declared

A major incident has been declared as a huge wildfire continues to spread in Throughout the early hours of this morning emergency services have been working together to tackle the blaze and keep nearby residents safe as the flames continue to spread in County Down, close to the Mourne Mountains.

Fourteen fire appliances and more than 100 firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze on Sandbank Road in Hilltown. Police have closed nearby roads for the safety of motorists as The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) continues to bring the under control.

The NIFRS has confirmed the blaze stretches for approximately two miles, including a large area of forestry with properties nearby. A NIRFS spokesperson said: "NIFRS declared a major incident at a significant wildfire in the Hilltown area, with a fire front of approximately 2 miles including a large area of Forestry. 14 fire appliances and over 100 firefighters are in attendance from Fire Stations across the service."

Police officers on duty in the Newry, Mourne and Down areas took to X to share a traffic update shortly before 3am this morning: "The main Hilltown to Rostrevor Road and Sandbank Road have now fully reopened to road users following an earlier gorse fire in the area."

Sky Watch NI, a humanitarian search and rescue charity based in Northern Ireland, shared a video on X with the update: "Video from our crew on scene shows the scale of this wildland fire in the Hilltown area tonight. Our team - all volunteers, are expected to be on the ground through the night and into Sunday with The public are asked to avoid the area at this time."