Forest Fire in Virgental: Emergency Crews Working Toward "Brandaus"

Voices from the Operation

Harald Mair, commander of the Virgen Volunteer Fire Department, told the broadcaster "5 Minuten": "Derzeit stehen 70 Personen bei der Bodenbrandbekämpfung, diese wird noch den halben Tag andauern." At the same time, he emphasized the good morale within the team: "Wir haben einen starken Zusammenhalt untereinander."

On Saturday, according to the operations command, around 370 firefighters and five, temporarily seven, helicopters had battled the flames. The Austrian Armed Forces and private helicopters were also involved in the aerial firefighting efforts before ground troops took over the main work.

Extent and Affected Area

According to the assessment of those in charge, an end to the operation is slowly coming into view, even though "Brandaus" has not officially been reported yet. Mair explained: "Die Glutnester sind noch hartnäckig." Under certain circumstances, "Brandaus" could then be declared by late afternoon.

An area of approximately ten hectares is altogether affected by the forest fire. The fire broke out on Friday afternoon and had spread in the partly difficult-to-access terrain of the Virgental.

Support from Farmers and Mountain Rescue

Farmers from the region are supporting firefighting efforts with their slurry tanks to cover the smoldering hotspots and prevent reignition. Mountain rescue also remains deployed in the alpine terrain.

The case highlights the importance of well-coordinated cooperation between fire departments, the Austrian Armed Forces, mountain rescue, and local farmers in fighting forest fires in alpine locations. The emergency personnel expressed confidence that they would be able to bring the fire under control in the course of the day.