20 fire brigades tackle forest fire in Kamptal

Twenty fire brigades and around 150 emergency personnel tackled a forest fire near Plank am Kamp in the municipality of Schönberg am Kamp on Monday, ORF reported. The fire was brought under control in the evening, but extinguishing work continued.

The fire broke out in the afternoon across an area of about eight hectares. It apparently began as a field fire involving stacks of wood before spreading to the adjacent forest.

A helicopter also assisted with the firefighting operation. The district fire brigade command said the final extinguishing work was expected to continue until midnight.

According to the fire brigade, around 10 hectares of forest were affected. A high-voltage power line runs through the forest, and EVN switched it off as a precaution. The measure did not affect the electricity supply.

The cause of the fire was still unclear on Monday evening.

The incident came as dry conditions continued in many regions. A 100-hectare forest fire in Föhrenwald near St. Egyden am Steinfeld in the district of Neunkirchen was brought under control on Sunday evening after five days of firefighting.

The EU Copernicus climate change service said on Monday that many regions had been drier than average in July, as they had been in June and parts of May. Soil-surface moisture in western Europe was significantly lower in July than during the last drought-affected July in 2022. Copernicus said drying soils lose their natural ability to provide cooling, allowing heat to build up more easily.