Fire risk in Austria: Fire brigades raise the alarm!

Fire risk in Austria: Fire brigades raise the alarm!

Eichenberg, Österreich - The persistent drought in Austria has led to a worrying increase in the risk of fire in the domestic forests, as Die Krone . Firefighter Günter Huemer informed that several major operations are already required, while emergency services in the Rax Schneeberg area are fighting current fires. This year, forest fire regulations came into force earlier than usual, especially in the districts of Baden and Mödling, and from Monday also in five other districts in Upper Austria. Special caution is required throughout the country, whereby the fire brigade urgently advises to choose the emergency number 122 in the event of a fire instead of starting your own extinguishing attempts.

forest fire risk and effects

The fire risk is not only increased by open fire, but also by thrown away garbage, which can ignite fires by the so -called lens effect. The fire brigade points out that all types of waste, including glass and plastic containers, represent potential fire hazards. Large forest fires can need weeks to combat, especially if they spread underground and secretly spread out. Deleting this hidden fire requires special equipment, whereby the accessibility to the herds of fire is a challenge, especially in steep slopes.

In California, the situation is dramatically pushing, as reports ZDF . There, massive forest fires have already destroyed over a hundred square kilometers and more than 180,000 people had to be brought to safety. The combination of arson, strong winds and persistent drought that is in the context of climate change has tightened the fire. Dr. Christopher Reyer from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research explains that the repetitive extreme weather conditions are the cause of the more common and more intensive forest fires due to global warming. This year the hottest has been the hottest since the start of the records, which also extends the forest fire season and increases the pressure on all affected regions.