Photo: HZS ScK via Twitter.
Czech News Agency·
Environment
··1 min read·

Firefighters Reduce Size of České Švýcarsko National Park Wildfire

Firefighters have reduced the total area affected by the fire in the České Švýcarsko national park by one-fifth to 2,860 hectares, and the damaged area is now 1,060 hectares, according to fire service spokeswoman Martina Gotzova, speaking to journalists on Sunday.

She added that thanks to a tremendous effort, firefighters were managing to control the flames. There are now 750 firefighters in Hrensko from across the whole Czech Republic. It is presumed that the large-scale response from the firefighters will take several more days.

Current situation

The fire intervention is now divided into four sectors.

The area hit by the fire now totals about 1,060 hectares, but the firefighters are working in a much larger area around the worst-hit areas, known as the external zone of the fire. This space is designated for the use of equipment, and free movement of people and vehicles are limited.

Thanks to the reduction of this area, evacuated residents from the village of Vysoka Lipa were able to return home.

Six firefighters were injured on Sunday, one of them hospitalised with a knee injury. In total, 47 firefighters have been wounded.

On Saturday, eight firefighters were injured, including one who was airlifted to the trauma centre of the hospital in Usti in a serious condition.

Help from regional partners

Yesterday morning, the five aircraft and six helicopters from the Czech emergency services were joined by ten helicopters from Germany, which German authorities offered to help fight the fire, said Gotzova.

She added that it is not yet clear whether they will provide further assistance in the days to come. Today, the firefighters used all equipment at their disposal. A seventh helicopter was in operation on Saturday, but the Polish Black Hawk was taken out of action for planned servicing.

2020 © Zeen World News