Wildfires in Saxon Switzerland: Firefighters arrive in Lambrecht after volcanic leak

Forest Fires in Bohemian Switzerland and Saxon Switzerland – The Most Important Things in a Nutshell

7.45 am: Czechs are worried about the weather forecast

Heavy rain fell in parts of the Czech Republic over the weekend – but not in Bohemian Switzerland. Emergency services are worried about the prospects for the next few days. Although a few showers are forecast for the start of the week, temperatures are expected to climb back into the 30s in the coming days. Meteorologists don’t expect clear rain until Friday.

7.20 am: Found new fireplace after drone flight

On Monday, volcanoes on the ground will be placed in the Großer Winterberg and Schand region, said Thomas Kunz, spokesman for the district office of Saxon Switzerland-East Ore Mountains. The ground is turned over and a carpet of foam is spread in the air. In this way, barriers should be created so that fire does not spread to the compost layer.

According to Kunz, another fire spot 20 meters high was discovered during a drone flight on Sunday evening. This has to be tackled by firefighting helicopters from this morning.

Around 200 firefighters are on site along with 50 vehicles. According to Kunz, another 150 people will be added in the morning, and a total of 550 people will be on duty during the day. Bundesware supports shutdown.

6.50 am

Entry into the forest in the Bohemian Fire area has been banned since Saturday. Like the National Park Authority on them Homepage As soon as the fire is extinguished and the safety of the tourism infrastructure is verified, the operation must be lifted immediately.

The state road from Děčín to Hřensko is closed to traffic.

The following communities and locations are closed:

• Hřensko,
• Rainweiss (border meadow),
• Pete Klummen, Das Prebishter (Presbyterian Gate),
• Stimmersdorf (Mesna),
• Šaunštejn,
• Hinterdittersbach (Chatney Jedricowicz) and Die Bommerstrasse (Bohemian Road),
• Die Grundmühle (Tolsky Mill),
• Die Ausicht of Die Commnitz
• Hohenlieba (Dahl Linden),
• A suburb of the municipality of Jonsdorf (Janow).

The following places are accessible to tourists

• The surroundings of Dittersbach (Jetřichovice) are famous sights (Mariina skála), Wilhelminenwand (or Rudolfstein), Balzhütte (Na Tokáni), Paulinengrund (, Rosenberg (, lookout tower “Růženka”. Travel is only possible in these areas. Places outside this area are accessible without restrictions) .
• The rest of the national park and tourist areas of Bohemian Switzerland are accessible and safe, but at the same time lack rescue personnel. The following places can be accessed by visitors: Tisza (Tisa), Eiland (Ostrov), Schneeberg (Snesnik), near Tessin (Tessin), Windish Kamnitz (Srbska Kamenis), Krásná Lípa near Ceska Kamenis (Silinice Andska), Daubitz (Doubice), Wolfsberg (Vlčí hora) and the entire Śluknov peninsula, including the Lusatian mountains.

6.05 am: Union Defense Minister Lambrecht arrives at the forest fire area

Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht visited the Saxon Forest Fire region of Switzerland this afternoon. According to the State Chancellery in Dresden, the SPD politician wants to get an idea of ​​the situation – together with Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) and Bundeswehr General Carsten Breuer. The visit starts at the operations center at the Bad Schandau fire brigade. There is also a helicopter flight in the program for the minister and the head of government.

Monday, 5:08 a.m.: Volcano leak worries firefighters

In Saxon Switzerland, authorities are missing all clear causes of forest fires. The fire was contained almost a week after the eruption, but Thomas Kunz, spokesman for the Saxon Switzerland-East Ore Mountains district, said new volcanoes continue to appear. “We can see the blocked area.”

A statement from the district on Sunday evening said that the prospect of easing the situation was primarily weather dependent: “Several days of heavy rain will significantly dampen the fire and effectively support the work of emergency services.” Under current conditions, the fire department expected extensive measures to be taken by mid-week. Rain is in the forecast for this Monday – but it’s unclear how much it will bring.

According to the spokesman, 560 troops were stationed at the Czech border on Sunday, as well as twelve helicopters and a water cannon from the Bavarian police.

According to the authorities, the area affected by the fire is stable between 140 and 150 hectares – the size of Helgoland. Emergency services were concerned the fire had penetrated the compost layer, Kunz said. “Fire spreads under fire brigade’s feet.” To prevent further spread, barriers will be placed on the floor and filled with special foam. This cools the ground.

Here’s what we reported on Sunday:

6.10 pm .: Interior Minister of Saxony on MDR: “We are not done yet”

Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) said in an interview with MDR Sachsenspiegel about the status of the dam work in Saxon Switzerland: “We are not done yet.” The situation was “stabilized, but at a very high level of strength.”

Fighting forest fires is a whole new challenge in this dimension. Saxony needs to invest more. “Ideas are practical. More material is needed – we need to work on an additional investment of 20 to 30 million euros for large tank fire-fighting trains, special units in the air and on the ground.” In addition to the question of materials, Schuster wants to put forest fire early detection to the test: “Are we good enough, digital enough?” When it comes to educating the population, “Does everyone really know? – I don’t think so.”

You can watch the program on MDR here

5.10 pm: Shandaur Fire Brigade nothing works without women

Although the current dimensions are unimaginable, people in and around Shandong know what a forest fire is. And you know the firefighters who spent days trying to put it out. The Schandauer firewomen are also there, organizing the backcountry and running it so the firefighters in the forest can focus on putting out the fires. A Report on the Women of the Schandau Fire Brigade

2.30 pm: No chance of rain today

With rain falling in the east of the Czech Republic since morning – even threatening to flood small streams inland – no rain is expected in Bohemian Switzerland today. For the emergency services, this means they must continue to fight the fire with all the tools at their disposal.

12.40pm: Foam carpet to prevent spread of fire

The Saxon forest fire in Switzerland is a tense situation. Given the rising temperatures, Thomas Kunz, spokesman for the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district office, said on Sunday morning that it is suspected that the fire sites could rekindle. Although there is no “big fire” at night, the fire is thought to become active again during the day. Drones were used for surveillance after firefighting helicopters completed their work on Saturday evening.

According to Kunz, as expected, the fire has now penetrated to a depth of half a meter in the humus layer of the earth and is spreading there. Therefore, efforts are currently being made to erect barricades on forest trails. “To do this, the ground is torn up, water and a mixture called a wetting agent is introduced.” The resulting foam can penetrate the soil well. It is said to form a bar to control the fire and lose its nourishment.

According to Kunz, Sachsenforst employees are working to remove dead trees from nearby forest areas. In addition, rangers from the Saxon Switzerland National Park are on site to support emergency services with their local knowledge. “In the morning, 360 people were stopped and the number is to be increased to 500 during the day.” You are dealing with a very dynamic fire situation, which makes the situation very complicated. 14 firefighting helicopters and 2 fire investigation helicopters are at the scene.

11.50 am: Mayor of Shanda: “It will be a tough, long and rocky road”

Thomas Cunac would have been on holiday since July 25 and would have traveled to Italy on Friday – and will be staying there like many others. And like everyone else who has been in continuous use for a week, Shantou Mayor can be seen. What are his tasks now, what is important for this moment and the future and how can Bad Shantau get back on his feet.

10.40 am: Residents of Wysoka Lipa may return

On the Czech side, firefighters have been able to make progress in the fight against the fire, the evacuation of Vysoké Lipa (Hohenliepa) is ending and people can return to their homes, tweeted the Fire and Rescue Service of the Ústí Region. Other evacuated villages are still inaccessible.

10.15 am: Federal Police firefighting helicopters are back in action:

Four firefighting helicopters of the Central Police resumed operations on Sunday. Firefighting tanks (“bombey buckets”) can hold up to 2,000 liters of water.