“Everything was foggy” – forest fire in Lower Austria: day-trippers flee from the smoke

As the Bad Vöslau volunteer fire brigade announced via Facebook, a forest area on the so-called Harzberg was on fire. Thick clouds of smoke rose right next to the popular excursion destination, the Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Jubiläumswarte with the adjacent shelter.

“Everything was already foggy”
The excursion guests present initially saw the approach of the fire brigade. Moments later, however, the situation came to a head: as an eyewitness reported to krone.at, they were in a hurry to get away. “Everything was foggy and the wind was blowing in our direction.”

Warning: Avoid location!
According to Stefan Schneider, the flames in an area of ​​about six hectares were quickly brought under control by the Baden district command. A shuttle service for the water supply was set up with several tank fire trucks. De Florianis also added the warning that the site should be avoided by the population and access roads should not be blocked.

Conditions for the helpers were difficult. Work was carried out on steep terrain and the wind also played a role. In addition to the emergency services from Bad Vöslau, fire brigades from Furth, Traiskirchen-Tribuswinkel, Maria Raisenmarkt, Kottingbrunn, Soss, etc. were also alerted. A total of eleven fire brigades were deployed.

According to Schneider, the fire was largely under control shortly after 3.30 pm. The work after the extinguishing would last until the evening hours.

The location of the fire was mainly visible from the air, but also from the A2, even from a great distance. It is not yet clear how the fire started or whether it was caused by negligence or even willfulness.