Forest fire in Mala Kosuta: Hunter discovers flames at night!

Forest fire in Mala Kosuta: Hunter discovers flames at night!

A small forest fire was discovered in the community of Eisenkappel-Vellach on Friday, July 4, 2025. At around 11 p.m., a hunter reported the development of smoke, which lasted until the early hours of the morning. The emergency services were alerted quickly in consultation with local fire departments, namely the Bad Eisenkappel and Rechberg fire departments, as well as the section fire department commander Helmut Malle and the district fire department commander Patrick Skubel.

Fighting the fire proved to be challenging: the extremely steep and impassable terrain made direct access to the fire site at around 1,700 meters above sea level significantly difficult. Therefore, the fire had to be extinguished exclusively from the air, using a helicopter. An area of ​​around 100 square meters of mountain pine forest on rocky ground was affected. The suspected cause of the fire was identified as a lightning strike following a thunderstorm.

Emergency services and supporters

Around 200 firefighters from various fire departments in the area were deployed to fight the fire. The following fire departments were involved:

• Abtei
• Altendorf
• Bad Eisenkapppel
• Eberndorf
• Edling
• Gablern
• Gallizien
• Globasnitz
• Kühnsdorf
• Miklauzhof
• Rechberg
• Rückersdorf
• St. Michael ob Bleiburg
• St. Stefan unterm Feuersberg
• Stein im Jauntal
• Unterbergen

A total of 26 vehicles were in use. In addition, the special forest fire services and air service of the Carinthian State Fire Brigade Association were available.

Firefighting challenges

The situation in Mala Kosuta highlights the common challenges fire departments face when fighting forest fires. Especially in difficult-to-access terrain, the use of helicopters is often the only way to combat flames effectively. However, these missions are not without risk, as factors such as poor visibility and changing air conditions can endanger the safety of the pilots.

In addition, it is crucial to use modern technologies for early fire detection. In the future, data from satellites and drones will be used to identify fires more quickly and shorten response times. These approaches are also supported by research projects, such as the Evolonic project at the University of Erlangen, which is working on drone systems for the rapid detection of forest fires.

Innovations in extinguishing technology

In order to further increase the efficiency of firefighting, new extinguishing technologies are being worked on. Fraunhofer EMI, in collaboration with CAURUS Technologies GmbH, is developing a novel process that optimizes the use of water when extinguishing. Studies show that the size of the water droplets and their position have a significant impact on the success of firefighting efforts. The goal is to reduce temperatures below the ignition point and remove oxygen.

These new processes could enable vegetation fires to be fought more quickly in the future and increase the efficiency of water use. Such innovations could play a crucial role, particularly in preventing and fighting forest fires, which are becoming increasingly common in Europe and beyond.