The Czech fire brigade is now stepping up its efforts to fight the devastating forest fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park. On Saturday, 220 additional forces were pulled together from all over the Czech Republic, as a spokesman said. The number of firefighters in the operation has increased to more than 650. The forest fire raged over an area of ??10.6 square kilometers, as confirmed by satellite images. The Bohemian Switzerland National Park with its rocky landscape borders on Saxon Switzerland, where there are also fires.
“We will actively go into the embers, pour water over them and dig up the ground,” said fire department spokesman Lukas Marvan on Czech television. While there were heavy rain showers in Prague, 90 kilometers away, only light precipitation was expected in Bohemian Switzerland. The fire-fighting work is supported by eight helicopters and five fire-fighting aircraft.
Access to large parts of the national park area has now been banned to keep onlookers away.
The forest fire broke out last Sunday and is considered one of the largest in the country’s history. Human negligence is believed to have caused the fire.
Tweet from the Czech fire brigade, in Czech
