Firefighters tackle the Mourne Mountains blaze. Picture by Pacemaker Leading Article 26 April, 2021 01:00 After three days of massive effort by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and other agencies the huge gorse fires on the Mourne Mountains appeared to be under control last night. A statement from the NIFRS said it was de-escalating the severity of the blaze from midday Sunday, attending to hot spots that might break out and hopefully reporting the emergency as over last night. But a spokesman described the situation at its height as “undoubtedly one of the most challenging gorse fires firefighters have ever had to deal with”.