Firefighters battle to control Swiss Alps forest blaze
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Helicopters fighting against a wildfire on the flank of a mountain in Bitsch near Brig, Switzerland.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
GENEVA - A hundred firefighters were battling to control a forest blaze in the Swiss Alps on Tuesday, though some villagers were allowed to return having been evacuated the night before.
The fire broke out on Monday in a forest above the village of Bitsch in the upper Wallis region in southern Switzerland. The fire is on the north side of the steep Rhone river valley.
The fire is still “raging” and “intervention forces are fighting tirelessly to bring the flames under control”, Wallis police said in a statement.
“To contain and control the fire, five helicopters are engaged alongside a hundred firefighters. The situation is being constantly assessed.”
Civilian and military helicopters were involved, with water dropped on the trees.
Four hamlets were evacuated on Monday evening, with 205 people moved out. Most sheltered with local friends and family.
Around 150 residents of Ried-Moerel were allowed to return home on Tuesday.
The police said the blaze has affected around 100ha of forest on the mountain slopes, and although it is too early to assess the exact extent of the fire, “some areas of the forest seem to have been spared”.
In the coming days, fire crews will be backed up by infra-red cameras able to detect hot spots which can then be targeted.
“There is no evidence that people or animals were affected,” the police said, while the first reconnaissance flights on Tuesday found that no buildings appear to have been damaged.
Local fire chief Mario Schaller said the fire had “gradually stabilised”, Switzerland’s ATS news agency reported.
The wind in the valley typically picks up in the afternoons, fanning the flames.
“As long as the smoke has not disappeared, there will be no let-up,” said chief Schaller.
Firefighters expect to have to fight the last of the fire for several days or potentially even weeks.
National broadcaster RTS described it as the worst fire in the region in 12 years.
The police said an investigation had been opened to determine what caused the blaze.
Europe braced itself for new high temperatures on Tuesday, as relentless heatwaves and wildfires scorched swathes of the Northern Hemisphere. AFP
