Forest Fire at Raucheck in the Tennengebirge: 56 Helicopter Flights and 20,000 Liters of Water

Given the situation in hard-to-reach alpine terrain, two police helicopters were deployed for the firefighting measures. Water was drawn from a private pond and from the Salzach River. In addition to the two helicopter teams, 50 firefighters, police, and members of the Federal Forests were also involved in the operation.

Emergency Services and Firefighting Measures

By the time the fire was brought under control at 7:30 p.m., the two helicopters had already dropped around 15,000 liters of water. Shortly before 8:00 p.m., the two helicopters then took off again on firefighting flights. After the "fire out" was declared at 8:10 p.m., further targeted flights were conducted to wet the surrounding area in order to contain any potential reignition of the fire.

Before the operation could be concluded, a total of 56 flights were carried out, during which more than 20,000 liters of water were dropped. A subsequent control flight with a drone was also conducted.

Control Flights and Follow-Up

On Wednesday at 8:00 a.m., the Salzburg flight police conducted another control flight using a thermal imaging camera. This revealed that the firefighting measures had been successful. However, remaining hotspots were still visible on the thermal image.

Possible Cause and Investigations

Stefan Grall, operations commander of the Pfarrwerfen Volunteer Fire Department, said on Wednesday upon request: "Möglicherweise habe ein Gewitter, das am Dienstag in dieser Region vor dem Brandausbruch durchgezogen war, das Feuer ausgelöst." The cause of the fire was initially unknown, and the origin of the blaze is being investigated by police.