By Friday, 70 hectares were already in flames. Six helicopters are in use and Lesachtalstrasse has been completely closed.
There was no end in sight to the forest fire in Carinthia’s Lesachtal, which broke out in steep terrain on Thursday evening, even on Friday evening. The fire continued to spread during the day and by evening 70 hectares of forest were in flames. Six helicopters and 40 fire departments with around 220 firefighters were deployed; it was assumed that the operation would last several days, according to the state alarm and warning center (LAWZ).
The fire broke out on Thursday around 9 p.m. east of the town of Maria Luggau – due to the extremely dry conditions in this area, the flames spread quickly. “At the moment there is relatively little that can be done with ground crews, which is why more helicopters have been requested,” the fire department said in the morning. The flames would literally eat their way up the steep terrain. The Hermagor district fire department said the wind and the heavy spread of smoke also caused problems.
While at lunchtime there was still hope of being able to prevent further expansion, it was destroyed in the afternoon: the area affected by the fire had almost doubled since the morning from 35 to 60 hectares. This is not just an area that is glowing, but actually a full-scale fire, said Lesachtal Mayor Bernhard Knotz (ÖVP) in an APA interview at lunchtime. The fact that the fire was able to spread so quickly is due to the dryness and the location on the sunny side of the valley, as well as to the damaged wood in the area after storms and bark beetle infestation – the dry wood really fueled the fire.
The situation was sometimes tense: “At one point the fire is only 100 meters away from inhabited buildings,” explained Mayor Knotz. Wind made the operation considerably more difficult and additional fire lines were laid. The plan was for the helicopters to fly until around 7:30 p.m. – as long as it was still light enough – and on Saturday they would arrive again early in the morning. The plan is now to keep a fire watch overnight and, above all, to protect the buildings near the fire. The firefighting work will continue with all intensity on Saturday – although the emergency services will be rotated. The LAWZ said that equipment, such as larger extinguishing containers, had also been requested from other federal states.
On Friday, the Federal Army also arrived in Lesachtal for assistance; three helicopters and a fire engine were deployed. The district crisis team was activated by Hermagor district captain Heinz Pansi. The state of Carinthia was in ongoing, close communication with the district crisis team, the state fire brigade command and disaster control.
Because of the risk of parts rolling down onto the road, Lesachtalstrasse (B111) between St. Lorenzen im Lesachtal and Maria Luggau had to be closed to all traffic. A bypass was only possible over a large area via East Tyrol.
