Storm fronts force fire brigades to work continuously

It was quite a stressful night from Tuesday to Wednesday for the Innviertel fire brigades. Across all three districts, the fire brigades had to deploy a total of around 80 times as a result of the violent storm that blew up around two o’clock. “First and foremost, we were busy clearing roads and transport links, especially of falling trees. Fortunately, no one was injured,” said Braunau’s district fire department commander Josef Kaiser yesterday morning.

Due to the many storm warnings, one is on high alert. The holiday season is not a problem in terms of staff. “The full commitment is always given,” said Kaiser.

“The operation was not unusual. First and foremost, we had to clear traffic routes of trees,” said Ried’s district police commander, Jürgen Hell, who is hoping for stable summer weather in the coming days. The reason for this is the district youth camp of the voluntary fire brigade, which is taking place in Taiskirchen from today through Sunday. The holiday season is also not a relevant issue for the fire brigades in the Ried district. “If the siren goes, then we’re there,” said Hell.

The nightly storm with up to 100 km/h was preceded by a very hot Tuesday. The Upper Austrian temperature peak was measured at 36.8 degrees at the Braunau/Ranshofen measuring station.

Pfotenhilfe in Lochen am See reported a lot of damage on the five-hectare site in a broadcast. Several large trees were uprooted or severely damaged. Many chicks were blown out of their nests by the storm.

failures in the power grid

Energie Ried informed yesterday that a total of four incidents had occurred as a result of the storm in the low-voltage grid. Areas in Wippenham, Andrichsfurt, Mehrnbach and Utzenaich were affected. Fortunately, the extent of the failures was limited. According to Friedrich Pöttinger, Managing Director of Energie Ried, a total of around 25 households were affected. It was the first such incident this summer, said Pöttinger. Energie Ried’s on-call service is available 24 hours a day, all year round.

More thunderstorms coming

More storms were also forecast for yesterday afternoon and evening. “The intensity of the storms – often several days in a row – has clearly increased in recent years. Due to the drought, the risk of selective flooding of buildings, basements or underground car parks is quite high,” said district fire brigade commander Josef Kaiser.