Difficult operation

Forest fire in Lower Austria: extinguishing work continues

The high temperatures and the very dry ground made it difficult to fight the fire.

(Bild: Antal Imre/Imre Antal)

Around 80 members of the fire department are still working to extinguish the devastating forest fire in Gänserndorf (Lower Austria). Due to the heavy smoke development, around 20 houses were briefly evacuated on Tuesday night.

A comprehensive firefighting operation was carried out overnight. A drone was used to locate and fight pockets of embers. District commander Georg Schicker hoped that "fire out" could be declared in the evening hours. However, the extinguishing work proved to be difficult.

The high temperatures and the very dry ground made it difficult to fight the fire.

(Bild: Antal Imre/Imre Antal)

(Bild: Bezirksfeuerwehrkommando Gänserndorf)

(Bild: zVg)

Very dry ground
On Tuesday morning, the affected area had to be "dug up meter by meter, which is hard physical work", said Schicker. The high temperatures and the very dry ground made it difficult to fight the fire. There was a risk of embers being rekindled by the wind, said the district fire service commander.

100 hectares affected
On Monday afternoon, a field fire initially broke out, which then spread to a forest fire south-east of Gänserndorf. According to Schicker, an area of around 100 hectares was affected. As the flames spread towards a settlement and a stud farm, around 20 buildings were temporarily evacuated.

"Fire spread under control"
This measure was also necessary due to the smoke pollution, it was said. 19 people and six animals were cared for by the Red Cross in the elementary school, and the residents were able to return to their homes in the evening hours. The fire was sealed off in an uninhabited area. "We had the spread of the fire under control very quickly", said Schicker on Tuesday. 34 fire departments with more than 235 members have been deployed so far.