Difficult operation

Fire on alpine pasture in Saalbach-Hinterglemm

The fire department and mountain rescue team had to fight their way up to the Stoffenalm.(Bild: FF Saalbach-Hinterglemm)

A fire broke out on the Stoffenalm in Saalbach-Hinterglemm in the early hours of Sunday morning. High above the valley, a stable building was on fire. The fire department, mountain rescue team and even two helicopters were deployed.

The Saalbach-Hinterglemm fire department was called out at 8.15 a.m. on Sunday morning to the operation in extremely rough terrain. A fire had broken out on the Stoffenalm at around 1550 meters above sea level.

The alp, which is located in the Schwarzachergraben and is only open in summer, is extremely difficult to reach in winter. The Saalbach volunteer fire department was only able to drive up to about two kilometers from the mountain pasture. After that, the helpers had to rely on support from the mountain rescue service and Hinterglemm cable cars.

"It wasn't easy, we couldn't drive all the way up because of the snow," said local fire brigade commander Michael Eberharter. Using quads and skidoos, the emergency services finally drove up the snow-covered path to the mountain pasture.

The stable building on the Stoffenalm was completely burnt out.(Bild: FF Saalbach-Hinterglemm)

Helicopter fetched water from the reservoir
Support from the air was also requested when the alarm was raised. A helicopter from Salzburg took care of material and crew transportation to the Stoffenalm. A helicopter from Tyrol was responsible for transporting extinguishing water, among other things. 

While the firefighters from Saalbach, Viehhofen and Maishofen fought the fire on the mountain pasture, the helicopter flew a tank of extinguishing water from the reservoir in Hinterglemm to the site of the fire. For the duration of the flights, lift and ski operations on the Westgipfel and Unterschwarzach lifts had to be suspended in the valley.

It was possible to prevent the fire from spreading to two alpine buildings. The fire was finally extinguished around midday. A total of around 100 emergency services and cable car employees were deployed.

The fire was discovered by guests from an alpine pasture on the opposite side of the valley at around 8 a.m. and the fire department was subsequently called.