Major operation in Sillian

Forest fire in East Tyrol: “Situation under control”

Four helicopters were also deployed in East Tyrol.(Bild: BFV Lienz/FF Sillian)

Large-scale fire department operation in East Tyrol: A forest fire broke out in Sillian on Friday afternoon during logging work and spread rapidly due to the strong winds. More than 150 firefighters battled the flames. The operation had to be interrupted during the night. On Saturday afternoon, the situation was largely brought under control and the fire was finally extinguished.

On Friday afternoon, at around 4 p.m., a forest fire was reported to the Tyrol control center on Sillianberg. After the local fire department had been notified, the incident commander "immediately raised the alert level 2. The Ministry of the Interior helicopter was also requested at the same time."

"Extreme fire spread" due to wind
During a reconnaissance flight with the incident command, an "extreme spread of fire" was detected due to the strong wind. "It was immediately clear to the incident command that additional helicopters would have to be requested via the regional warning center in order to get the situation under control," said the fire department.

The fire was also fought on the ground - under extremely difficult conditions.(Bild: BFV Lienz/FF Sillian)

By nightfall, the fire had been contained to an area of around six to eight hectares. The operation had to be interrupted during the night for safety reasons. The firefighting operation continued in the early hours of Saturday morning - both on the ground and from the air. All in all, around 180 firefighters were on site.

The initially rapid spread of the fire was contained by the rapid and targeted deployment of the emergency services.

Einsatzleiter Bernd Kukla

"Careful extinguishing of the embers is essential"
The initially rapid spread of the fire was contained thanks to the rapid and targeted deployment of the emergency services. "The operation is currently under control, but according to the weather forecast, there should be a small amount of rainfall in the near future, but also strong winds. For this reason, careful extinguishing of the embers is essential," said incident commander Bernd Kukla on Saturday morning.

A total of four helicopters were deployed to extinguish the fire.(Bild: BFV Lienz/FF Sillian)

The rapid deployment also prevented the fire from spreading eastwards into the populated area, according to district fire service inspector Franz Brunner. At 5.17 pm, the fire was finally declared "out". "Around 6.5 hectares of forest were destroyed by the fire", according to the police. No one was apparently injured. "The amount of damage has not yet been determined", according to the executive. Investigations into the exact cause of the fire are ongoing.