With the raging forest fire in Hirschwang in the market town of Reichenau an der Rax since the start of the week, no relaxation was in sight on Friday either. The bright spot was that the flames did not spread any further. “The emergency services can still limit the fire area to 115 hectares,” said Franz Resperger from the Lower Austria fire brigade command on the holiday evening. A total of 500 helpers were called in.
In general, there were “small-scale fires” which were quickly extinguished by fire brigade members and with the support of nine helicopters. “With locking positions in steep terrain and cutting new aisles, we have also succeeded in preventing the flames from spreading on trees that are still undamaged,” Resperger sums up.
According to district fire brigade commander Josef Huber, the focus of the extinguishing work was the so-called eastern flank. There was a picture of fire and smoke development: “Embers flare up there again and again,” said the head of operations to the APA. He spoke of a controlled fire fighting attack, the situation was under control.
Equipped for wind
In the west, where several large tank fire engines had been positioned on the Höllental-Bundesstrasse (B 27), which are supposed to prevent the flames from spreading to the Rax side as a “defensive front”, the situation was relatively calm, according to Huber. “Everything is in operation”, one is prepared, “should the wind come up”.
These windy conditions are in the room for the coming days and, according to the storm center, will cause further tension (see tweet below). They had already been announced for Friday – a forecast that did not come true. “There is no wind”, said fire brigade commander Huber happily on Friday afternoon.
Precipitation expected on Monday
General relaxation for the situation could bring precipitation. But these are only announced for Monday evening. Until then, and probably beyond, the helpers have to continue racking in the rough terrain. Martin Boyer, deputy state fire brigade commander, supported the forces deployed on Friday and spoke of a self-sacrificing performance that is performed by each individual fire brigade member. It was announced that around 200 helpers would again stay on the spot in the late hours “to be able to intervene immediately if a fire breaks out again”.
The flames, which, according to Resperger, have developed into the “largest forest fire that has ever occurred in Austria”, broke out on Monday. The fire spread extremely quickly – from five to more than 100 hectares in ten hours.
Four injured so far
Four injured have now been counted. The case of a 51-year-old forest worker who had to be treated in the hospital became known on Tuesday. In addition, three firefighters suffered minor injuries.
With regard to the cause of the fire, according to spokesman Johann Baumschlager, the police assume a “foreign source of ignition”. Numerous clues will be followed up, it said on Friday. The district fire investigators would carry out surveys in the area, including in surrounding huts.