The lovely dry hot weather of the past few days whilst very welcome is also a worry with regard to fire risk, I passed 2 large gorse fires on the way home last week. A few dry days can dry out vegetation very quickly and the risk of forest fires increases dramatically. The main causes of forest fires over the past 5 years has been gorse burning, peatland burning, accidental fires and unfortunately arson. Forest Owners need to be very vigilant and should also make sure their forest is insured as they are required by law to replant their forest if it is burnt and one of the largest costs will be the replanting costs.
Western Forestry Co-op (established in 1985) manage a group forest insurance scheme for landowners. The forest insurance scheme covers replanting costs up to a max of €3000/ha. For example if you planted 8 ha in 2001 and 6 ha of it burnt, it could cost you up to €18,000 to replant that area. If you received a grant and premium from the Forest Service to plant this land and did not replant it you would also be liable to repay all the grants and premiums that you received.
Our forest insurance scheme covers:
- Loss of Value (timber revenue)
- Reconstitution (replanting costs)
- Fire Brigade Charges
- Public Liability (optional)
For an insurance quote or more information on the Insurance Scheme, please call Margaret on 071-9161458.
