Czech wildfire spreads as situation tense on both sides of border
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Prague (dpa) – Germany and the Czech Republic continued to fight forest fires on Sunday, with the situation tense on both sides of the border on Sunday.
The fire burning in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, one of the largest seen in Czech history, now spans an area of around 1,000 hectares.
The challenging terrain is making the fire difficult to contain, a spokesperson for the emergency services told Czech public broadcaster CT.
The fire broke out last weekend in the Czech national park and spread across the border to Germany’s Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday.
Firefighters operate a helicopter on a forest fire near the village of Bad Schandau, Germany, 29 July 2022. The fire has been raging for days, affecting the border area between the Czech Republic and Germany. EPA-EFE/CLEMENS BILAN
Crews keep finding new pockets of embers in the park. Some 750 firefighters are battling the flames after additional forces were called up from throughout the Czech Republic.
They are aided by six helicopters and five fire-fighting aircraft, that set out after the early morning fog had lifted.
So far, eight emergency workers have been injured during the efforts, several of them seriously. “This shows that we are really moving in a dangerous terrain,” the spokesperson said.
Some parts of the forest area are difficult to access, she said, including areas on the German-Czech border.
Hikers have now been banned from the Czech national park and police turned away three tourists seeking to visit one of the sandstone rock formations.
Meanwhile across the border in Germany, there was no sign of the situation easing in the Saxon Switzerland park, the authorities said.
