Rapid response prevents forest fire near Felbertauern Tunnel

A joint operation by firefighters and the police aviation unit prevented a larger forest fire in Pinzgau on Monday morning, ORF reported. A tree caught fire in difficult-to-access terrain near the northern portal of the Felbertauern Tunnel.

After an aerial reconnaissance flight, the police helicopter crew lowered a firefighting team to the site on a cable. The team was equipped with backpack sprayers and reached the fire at an altitude of about 2,000 metres.

Firefighters extinguished burning roots and pockets of embers. An initial inspection was then carried out using a drone and a thermal imaging camera.

The operation ended at about 3 p.m. after the helicopter dropped two loads of water from its onboard firefighting tank over the fire. More than 40 people from the fire service, police and rescue services took part, said Moritz Scharler, spokesman for the Pinzgau fire services, according to the Austrian Press Agency.