Rugged Summit Terrain
Drei Hubschrauber sind im Einsatz.
Image: dpa
A mountain forest is on fire in the Chiemgau Alps. Emergency responders are facing challenges because the area near the summit is not easily accessible. But that doesn’t mean they’re standing idly by.
Today at 12:28
Today at 12:28The roar of the helicopters echoes incessantly, and thick smoke drifts down into the valley: A mountain forest in the Chiemgau Alps has caught fire. More than 200 emergency responders are battling the flames with helicopters and sprinkler systems in the rugged terrain near the summit of the Hochwand, close to the Lackenbergwand near Unterwössen (Traunstein district).
Due to heavy smoke, residents in the area were warned this morning. “People are being asked to keep their windows and doors closed, turn off their ventilation and air conditioning systems, and avoid the area around the scene of the fire,” said a spokesperson for the Traunstein District Fire Department Association. Due to the firefighting efforts, Federal Highway 305 is currently closed in both directions—toward Reit im Winkl and toward Marquartstein.
Extent still unclear
When the alarm was raised on Wednesday evening, a distinct column of smoke was already visible near the summit at just under 1,000 meters above sea level. However, the extent of the fire remained unclear even by Thursday afternoon. “Fighting wildfires in mountain forests is very difficult,” explained the fire department spokesperson. “It’s not like a field that’s 100 meters long and 60 meters wide—where you have 6,000 square meters. Here, the fire spreads up and down, back and forth.”
That is why drones are being used: Using thermal imaging technology, emergency responders are systematically trying to determine how many heat sources are present on the mountain. However, the drone operations would have to be coordinated with the helicopter flights, the expert explained, noting this as another challenge. It was also not possible to determine the cause of the fire at this time. As of now, however, no one has been injured.
Memories of the fire at Saurüsselkopf come flooding back
In general, the conditions at the time the fire broke out were similar to those of the fire at the nearby Saurüsselkopf near Ruhpolding in May, said the fire department spokesperson. That fire had subsequently spread and had been extremely difficult to extinguish. It took a full month before the operation was finally declared over.
In the case of the current fire on the Hochwand, too, the blaze spread toward the valley during the first night. “Last night and during the night, firefighters began laying out long stretches of hose and setting up so-called circular sprinklers every few meters,” explained the fire department spokesperson. “You can think of them as large garden sprinklers. They’re used to wet down the area not affected by the fire to prevent it from spreading further.”
Shuttle service with tanker fire trucks
To this end, a shuttle service using tanker fire trucks was set up. Three firefighting helicopters were also in operation on both Wednesday evening and Thursday. Because there is no large body of water in the immediate vicinity, the fire department fills the tanks in a matter of minutes using hoses while the helicopters hover over a field in the valley.
“Vehicles can’t reach the source of the fire,” explained the fire department spokesperson. Initially, it was not possible to directly fight the fire at the summit of the mountain using ground-based resources. Approximately 200 members of the fire departments, mountain rescue, emergency medical services, and the police are on the scene.
Their dedication puts the residents at ease. “It’s pretty shocking, I have to say. Because, of course, you don’t expect something like this to ever happen,” said one resident. “But the emergency responders on the scene are great. We don’t need to be afraid, because they’re really capable and do their job well.”