The situation in the Saxon Switzerland and Bohemian Switzerland National Park is critical. The forest fire spread. It is unclear on Thursday morning whether there is another source of fire. News ticker.
- New fire site in the Saxon Switzerland National Park : No relaxation in sight in the forest fire.
- Gaffer at forest fire : Kirnitzschtalbahn stops operating due to disaster tourists.
- Major fire rages in Saxon Switzerland National Park : Environment Minister calls situation “devastating”
- This news ticker is updated regularly.
Update from July 28, 7:18 a.m .: The fire spreads north of the Großer Winterberg in Bohemia. Further north of the previous fire area between Großer Winterberg and Großer Zschandbach, the fire crossed the border from Bohemia to Saxon Switzerland, said the press spokesman for the district office of the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains, Thomas Kunze, on Thursday morning. However, it cannot yet be said whether there will be another major source of fire in addition to the previous five fire sites.
New fire site in the Saxon Switzerland National Park: No relaxation in sight in the forest fire
275 emergency services are currently trying to contain the fire. This number of emergency services will be increased further during the course of the day. There are now eight firefighting helicopters in use. According to the information, around 250 hectares of forest are currently on fire.
The fire broke out in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic over the weekend and spread to the Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday.
In Bad Schandau in Saxon Switzerland, a disaster alarm has been in effect since Tuesday. Tourists should avoid the area. In the district of Saxon Switzerland-Osterzgebirge, the forests may no longer be entered until further notice. According to the authorities on Wednesday evening, there is currently no risk of the fire spreading to neighboring towns.
Forest fire in the Czech Republic: Canadair aircraft from Italy support extinguishing work
In Bohemian Switzerland, the large-scale operation of the fire brigade continues. Around 400 fire brigade forces were on duty on Thursday night. From the morning, the extinguishing work should be supported again from the air. Among them are two Canadair machines from Italy. The two planes are supposed to fetch the water from Lake Milada not far from Usti nad Ladem and not take any water from the Elbe. The two Italian Canadair flew from Italy to Prague on Wednesday. The Czech fire brigade shared a video of the first flight on Twitter.
Forest fire in Bohemian Switzerland: Italy sends extinguishing planes to the Czech Republic
Update from July 27, 4:14 p.m .: The situation in the fire areas remains tense, “but not out of control,” says the Pirna district office. There is no spread to neighboring houses in Saxon Switzerland. In the Bad Schandau area in particular, rumors were circulating about endangered residential buildings and the associated evacuations. The district office warns that these are false reports that should not be passed on.
Update from July 27, 2:23 p.m .: The Czech Republic gets help from Italy. Two Italian Canadair fire-fighting aircraft are scheduled to land in Prague around 5 p.m. Helicopters from Poland and Slovakia are already being used to extinguish the fire, the Czech fire brigade announced on Twitter. Firefighters also arrived from other regions of the country to relieve exhausted colleagues.
The flames raged over an area of around ten square kilometers in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, said a spokesman for the emergency services on Wednesday. According to the regional fire service ČTK, the fire near Hřensko is under control. Turntable ladders were used to extinguish embers in the rocks above the town. So far, around 450 people have had to leave their homes and apartments.
Forest fire in the national park: Czech fire brigade reports from onlookers
There are also gaffers on the Czech side. “We have information from a local colleague that someone drove 300 km to look at it,” the fire department tweeted. And please don’t do that. A general entry ban in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park was not issued. On the German side, the district of Saxon-Switzerland-Osterzgebirge had issued a ban on entering the forest.
Forest fire National Park Saxon Switzerland: Super Pumas of the federal police in action
Update from July 27, 1 p.m .: Super Pumas of the Federal Police are used to extinguish the forest fire in Saxon Switzerland. Two helicopters are to help fight the forest fire near Schmilka. The authority announced this via Twitter.
Gaffer at forest fire: Kirnitzschtalbahn stops operating due to disaster tourists
Update from July 27th, 9.47 a.m .: The Kirnitzschtalbahn has stopped operating because of gazers, reports the MDR. This is intended to prevent onlookers from entering the operational area of forest fire fighting in the rear Saxon Switzerland for a limited period of time. Onlookers are said to have hindered the extinguishing work on Tuesday. However, the bus line through the Kirnitzschtal continues to run.
Forest fire National Park Saxon Switzerland: This is the situation on Wednesday
Update from July 27, 9:16 a.m .: Since Sunday there has been a fire in Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. On Monday, the fire spread to the Saxon Switzerland National Park. The forest fire is not yet fully under control. During the night, 148 emergency services prevented the fire from spreading.
The situation is still tense in two out of five fire areas, said the spokesman for the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district office, Thomas Kunz, on request. “The area is rugged and not easily accessible.”
- In Bad Schandau in Saxon Switzerland, a disaster alarm has been in effect since Tuesday. Tourists should avoid the area.
- In the district of Saxon Switzerland-Osterzgebirge , the forests may no longer be entered until further notice.
Forest fire in the Saxon Switzerland National Park under control in three places
Update from July 26, 8:11 p.m .: The situation remains tense with the forest fire in the Saxon Switzerland National Park. The extinguishing work is made more difficult primarily by the nature of the affected area, said the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district office on Tuesday evening. In addition to the inaccessibility of the site, the complicated procurement of extinguishing water, which is fetched from the Elbe and the Kirnitzsch, among other things, is problematic, said a spokesman.
The fire therefore extended over around 250 hectares. There were still five locations in total, three of which were under control. The other two continued to spread uncontrollably, the spokesman said. More than 400 fire brigade comrades were on duty in the early evening.
The state police, water police and riot police were also deployed with some forces and supported the extinguishing work with helicopters and water cannons. The Bundeswehr had also sent three helicopters to extinguish the fire, all of which were in action in the evening. The fire spread from the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic to the Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday.
Major fire rages in Saxon Switzerland: Minister of the Environment calls the situation “devastating”
Update from July 26, 5:45 p.m .: Saxony’s Environment Minister Wolfram Günther expressed his dismay at the forest fire in Saxon Switzerland. “The current forest fire season in Saxony is devastating,” the Green politician was quoted as saying in a statement on Tuesday: “This forest fire is a tragedy for the region and for all people who live from tourism.”
Günther appealed to the population and tourists to avoid the fire area and to adhere to the entry bans. “We are experiencing the consequences of the climate crisis here with drought, heat and dried out forests,” he added.
Forest fire in the Saxon Switzerland National Park: disaster alert for Bad Schandau
First report from July 26th: Sebnitz/Bad Schandau – There are tragic pictures that take place in the Saxon Switzerland National Park on the German-Czech border. After a forest fire in Bohemian Switzerland spread to the forests in Saxony on Monday (July 25), around 250 rescue workers are currently on duty and are constantly fighting the flames with water cannons and helicopters.
While the emergency services are still fighting the fire in five places, a disaster alarm has been issued for the town of Bad Schandau, which is on the edge of the national park. According to a warning from the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district office, all tourists should avoid the rear areas of the park – there is a risk to life and limb.
60 children rescued: holiday camps in the Czech part of the park were threatened by flames
Already on Monday (July 25th) around 60 children were rescued from the national park. As a spokeswoman for Ferienland eV confirmed to the Leipziger Volkszeitung , these come from Leipzig, Dresden, Halle and Chemnitz, among others. They were in a holiday camp in Ceska Kamenice in the Czech part of the park and were evacuated to Bad Schandau. The children are currently being looked after and cared for by the Johanniter from Pirna and should be allowed to return home during the course of the day.
Forest fire in Saxon Switzerland: Bundeswehr assures help
In addition to the more than 250 emergency services that have been deployed since Tuesday morning, the Bundeswehr wants to send further support. So far, one helicopter each from the state and federal police are in use, four more machines are to be added around Tuesday afternoon, as a spokesman for the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district office announced. Meanwhile, other areas of Germany are struggling with forest fires, including Brandenburg. (le with dpa)
