Forest fire in Salzburg's Pongau district reignites, prompting helicopter response

Aerial and ground operations

Abschnittsfeuerwehrkommandant Christian Lackner, the local section fire commander, said the original fire had been extinguished by about 16:00 the previous day, allowing the all-clear — "Brand aus" — to be issued that Tuesday evening. The decision to trigger the special alarm plan Level 2 of the Salzburg fire service reflected the scale of the initial incident, the regional broadcaster "5 Minuten" reported.

The renewed flare-up drew an immediate response. Roughly 50 people from the fire service, the Austrian Interior Ministry (BMI), the mountain rescue service (Bergrettung), the affected municipality and the landowner were deployed, with 21 firefighters from the Werfen and St. Johann im Pongau stations leading the on-site effort, the regional fire association said.

Multi-agency response

Support was provided by Bergrettung mountain rescue teams, the Alpine police (Alpinpolizei), the flight police operating the "Libelle" helicopter, and the Austrian Interior Ministry, all of which were on sustained deployment throughout the operation. The combination of steep terrain, dense Latschen vegetation and shifting winds made the work particularly hazardous, officials said.

The roughly 100-square-metre area of burning dwarf pines identified in the renewed operation sits in country that fire crews had already declared safe a day earlier. The recurrence highlights the difficulty of fully extinguishing smouldering ground fires in alpine pine stands, where heat can persist in root systems and surface humus long after flames are doused.

Why the fire reignited

In total, the day's water-bombing flights over the Bäreckrinne and adjacent Stegenwald area added to the more than 13,000 litres already dropped during the initial response, fire officials said. Ground teams continued to monitor the slope on Thursday evening for any further flare-ups, with the Latschenfeld above Werfen remaining the focal point.

No casualties or damage to buildings were reported. The incident underscores the fire risk in the Salzburger Pongau, where prolonged dry periods and exposed south-facing slopes can turn otherwise small ignitions into labour-intensive multi-agency operations.

Officials urged hikers and residents to avoid the area around the Bäreckrinne and to report any new smoke sightings immediately to the fire service.