Minister and Cork South-West TD Christopher O'Sullivan has said recent wildfires in Kerry could have been avoided, adding he took a zero tolerance approach to lighting fires in national parks and wild places.

The Fianna Fáil politician said the recent fire at Killarney National Park 'was started by human activity and completely avoidable'.

In a social media post he shared an image of the fire, which broke out near Five Mile Bridge in Killarney at around 5pm last night, and appealed: 'We can do better than this.'

Fire crews from Kenmare and Killarney responded to the incident to contain and suppress the fire.

Aerial support was also deployed, with helicopters using Bambi buckets to assist ground crews in tackling the blaze.

The TD and Minister for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity said National Parks and Wildlife Service staff  were battling fires, including incidents believed to have been started by the reckless use of disposable barbecues.

'This is utterly unacceptable,' he said in a statement.

'Lighting fires or using disposable barbecues in a National Park or any wild area is not carelessness, it is gross irresponsibility – especially during a heatwave.

'It is a crime against nature, against local communities and against future generations who have the right to inherit these precious landscapes intact.'

He said the message was simple: to leave beauty and nature spots as people found them or better, and leave no trace.

He added: 'My heartfelt thanks go to the NPWS staff, firefighters and emergency services who have worked tirelessly, often in extremely difficult conditions, to contain this fire and protect one of Ireland’s greatest natural assets.'

The NWPS said it would be on site today to assess the affected area and monitor any remaining hotspots to determine whether any further firefighting operations are required.

Meanwhile, gardaí have launched an investigation into a large-scale fire that engulfed 26,000sq ft of land near Camden Fort Meagher in Crosshaven.

The blaze came within 2ft of 30 homes with fire crews spending several hours to get it under control on Monday evening.

It is believed the blaze originated from a small grassland fire.