A forest fire kept the emergency services in Grünau im Almtal (Gmunden district) busy for more than 24 hours: an area on the local mountain (1246 m) above the eastern shore of the Almsee was affected, around 100 people – firefighters, mountain rescuers, police – and two Helicopters have been in action in the rough terrain since Monday afternoon, the fire brigade reported.
Wind-fired nests of embers
Heavy rain fell during the night, but did not completely extinguish the fire. On Tuesday at 6.30 a.m., the volunteer fire brigade and the Grünau mountain rescue team went out again. The area was searched with a thermal imaging drone. It turned out that there are still embers, which flare up again and again due to the strong wind.
Helicopters were requested again while the emergency services made their way to the source of the fire on foot. The air traffic police helicopters transported water from the Almsee to the local mountain. The water was distributed to the individual fire-fighting crews by means of pumps from a fire-fighting water tank.
In the photo gallery you can see photos of the complex operation high above the Almsee:
View picture gallery
Use in high alpine terrain
The fire-fighting squads, consisting of fire brigade and mountain rescue forces, fought against embers in the ground in the high alpine terrain. The steep, rocky terrain posed a particular danger, which is why mountain rescuers could only extinguish the fire with safety ropes.
“Burning out” was finally given later in the afternoon. The continuous rain made the dismantling work in the steep terrain significantly more difficult, the fire brigade said. At around 7:30 p.m., the demanding mission was finally over. Information about the cause of the fire was not available for the time being, the police are investigating.
videos show the extinguishing work on the ground …
… and from the air:
Localization: The Hausberg (1246 m) is a secondary peak of the Schneiderberg (1324 m) on the east bank of the Almsee
Source: Nachrichten
