The risk of forest fire increases: Caution in the forest required!

The risk of forest fire increases: Caution in the forest required!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - The continued drought in the past few months has increased the risk of forest fire in Austria. The Austrian Federal Forest (ÖBF) urgently warn of an increased risk of forest fires and appeal to forest visitors to be particularly careful. Winter 2024/25 was the driest in 28 years, and associated temperatures and the risk of fires in the home forests increase. Andreas Gruber, board member for forestry and nature conservation of the ÖBF, emphasizes: "A small spark can already be enough to ignite dry leaves or grass". Around 80 percent of the forest fires are man -made, which underlines the importance of caution. Georg Schöppl, spokesman for the board of the ÖBF, calls on to immediately alert the fire brigade under 122 in suspicious smoke or flame symptoms.

increasing risk of forest fire

A comparison with the data of other regions shows that the risk of forest fire is also increasing in Germany. According to an analysis by the Federal Environment Agency, the weather -related hazard has remained largely constant since 1991, but there was a significant increase in forest fires in the extremely dry years 2018 and 2019, especially in the eastern federal states. The tropical temperatures and the drought caused the forest fire season in certain areas to become a serious problem that made preventive measures and faster reactions from the fire brigade and population necessary. The forest fire statistics show that more than 1,700 fires were registered in these years, with large areas burned and residents of neighboring areas had to be evacuated.

In order to reduce the risk of forest fire, the Federal Forest rely on extensive prevention measures. This includes training for employees, working with fire brigades and campaigns such as "#waldfairliebt" in order to increase the awareness of the visitors. In addition, work is being made to adapt forest management to protect endangered areas. An important point is the mixing of forest areas with leaf wood, which can promote moist reserves even in long dry phases. With the progressive global warming and the associated weather extreme, attention to forest fire prevention in the coming years will continue to increase, as