Hundreds of firefighters in Tyrol and Lower Austria have been fighting forest fires since the weekend. The fires blaze in Pinswang in the Ausserfern and in the village of Modsiedl in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya.
On Saturday at around 12.30 p.m. residents noticed a column of smoke in the “Schwarzenberg Glockenschlag” area near the border with Germany and sounded the alarm. According to the police, the fire spread quickly and reached an area of 90,000 square meters. In the steep, rocky terrain, it was difficult for the emergency services to make headway. Therefore, firefighting helicopter teams also moved in.
The fire was extinguished from the air until 6.45 p.m., but finally the operation had to be stopped in the dark. A firefighter was taken to hospital with suspected smoke inhalation.
Drone with thermal imaging camera
The volunteers were able to contain the forest fire, but embers continued to blaze, which were fanned by the wind, as was shown by the use of a drone with a thermal imaging camera. The extinguishing actions continued on Sunday. 35 hectares of forest are now affected.
The firefighters found geographically more favorable conditions during their mission in Waidhofen an der Thaya. Around 200,000 square meters of forest caught fire there on Saturday evening. Because the area is well developed by forest roads, no helicopter was required, according to the Waidhofen district fire brigade command. 145 volunteers from 15 fire departments were able to quickly contain the flames, and the forest fire was extinguished around 10 p.m.
A forest fire also broke out in Carinthia in the Spittal an der Drau district yesterday afternoon. Five hectares of steep terrain were affected, police said. Ten fire brigades were deployed, and a police helicopter was also requested. As in Tyrol and Lower Austria, the cause of the fire is likely to be the persistent drought.
An 80-year-old forest owner died in a forest fire in south-eastern Styria on Friday. He is said to have often burned leaves there. The investigation is ongoing.
Source: Nachrichten
