Sebnitz/Bad Schandau (dpa/sn) – Saxon Environment Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens) described the forest fire in the Saxon Switzerland National Park as a tragedy. “The current forest fire season in Saxony is devastating,” said Günther on Tuesday, according to the announcement. “This forest fire is a tragedy for the region and for all people who live from tourism”. The Green politician asked the population and tourists to avoid the fire area and to adhere to the entry bans. “We are experiencing the consequences of the climate crisis here with drought, heat and dried out forests”.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, fighting the fire in the Großer Winterberg area will continue for several days. An assessment of the damage and the affected areas is not yet possible. In the vast majority of cases, humans are the trigger for forest fires, as Günther said. This should also be investigated in Saxon Switzerland.
Since Tuesday morning, 254 firefighters and federal and state police forces have been deployed. The fire spread from the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic to the Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday. The fire sometimes covers long distances because sparks are transported far by the wind, the ministry said.
