Extinguishing work continues

Nordkette: Boy (12) starts fire with pyrotechnics

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Firefighters and helicopters are still battling the forest fire on the Nordkette high above Innsbruck. And the operation will probably not be over on Sunday. It has now been established that a twelve-year-old boy started the fire by repeatedly setting off pyrotechnics during a hike. 

"On 28.12.2025 in the morning, a twelve-year-old Austrian citizen came to the Innsbruck-Hötting police station together with his father and told the officers that he was responsible for the outbreak of the fire," the police said in a statement. According to the statement, the boy was hiking with his family on the Nordkette mountain range and repeatedly set off pyrotechnic objects.

"In the area where the fire later broke out, the boy ignited another pyrotechnic object, which immediately led to a meadow fire," the investigators continued. The family tried to extinguish the fire, but had no chance due to the dry conditions, the tall grass and the steep terrain. The father then made an emergency call and the hikers left the area as the smoke and flames grew stronger and stronger. No one was injured. 

The people present tried to extinguish the fire immediately, but were unsuccessful.

Die Polizei in einer Aussendung

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Probably no "fire out" on Sunday
In the early afternoon, the fire was still under control, but the emergency services were still busy extinguishing a "large number of embers", said Marcus Wimmer from the Innsbruck professional fire department. There would be no final "fire out" on Sunday. "It's definitely not going to end", Wimmer told the APA news agency.

This means that extinguishing work will still have to be carried out on Monday. The pockets of embers must first be dug out of the forest floor so that they can then be extinguished individually.

Pictures from day 1 of the forest fire:

Difficult operation
The whole of Innsbruck witnessed a sudden cloud of smoke on the Nordkette mountain range shortly after midday on Saturday. An initially small fire developed into a large wildfire within a few minutes. The meter-high flames could even be seen from Maria-Theresien-Straße.

Getting to the source of the fire was difficult - and it soon became clear that nothing would work without a helicopter. "The helicopters extinguished the fire from the air until nightfall. At the same time, fire departments were on site fighting the fire. Fighting the fire was a huge logistical challenge," says Innsbruck's mayor Johannes Anzengruber to the "Krone".

Access is currently prohibited on the Nordkette between the railroad line and Höttinger Graben.(Bild: Melanie Gassler-Tischlinger)

23 fires during the night
During the night, eight hectares of fire were observed - according to Anzengruber, there were 23 flare-ups during the night. "On Sunday it started again at 6.30 am. Four helicopters were deployed - to extinguish the fire, but also for reconnaissance flights. That was also the reason why we issued a no trespassing order between the Seegrubenbahn and Höttinger Graben. If four helicopters are constantly in the air, then nobody should be underneath them. This was purely a safety measure," Anzengruber continues. He assumes that this ban will be lifted in the course of Sunday.

It is urgently necessary for the Austrian Armed Forces to finally station a helicopter in Tyrol on a permanent basis. The helicopters had to arrive from Hörsching on Sunday.

BM Johannes Anzengruber

Bild: Christof Birbaumer

In total, nine fire departments with 25 vehicles and four helicopters were deployed. "My thanks go to all the firefighters - and also to the fire departments from Rum, Zirl and Völs, who helped us out. The fire on the Nordkette was not the only operation at the weekend for our fire departments," says the mayor.

On Sunday, three fire departments were still in action: the Hungerburg and Hötting volunteer fire departments and the professional fire department! Around 140 firefighters were on the scene, as well as four helicopters from the police and army.

"Tyrol needed a federal army helicopter"
The mayor of Innsbruck is calling for the Austrian Armed Forces to finally station a helicopter in Tyrol. "On Saturday, we first had to wait more than an hour until a helicopter finally arrived. Then on Sunday, two army helicopters arrived from Hörsching. It is imperative that a helicopter from the Austrian Armed Forces is finally stationed in Tyrol. The conditions in Vomp are ideal for this. In the interests of the safety of the Tyroleans!"