Wildfires are among the most devastating summer disasters. In Austria, about eight out of ten of the 150 to 300 such fires per year are caused by human error, with carelessly discarded cigarettes being the most common cause of ignition.
A protective forest destroyed by fire also increases the risk of natural hazards such as mudslides, rockfalls or avalanches.
“Forest fire prevention must therefore be our common goal. That is why we have created a basis for this in the forest fund for the first time. In total, eleven million euros are available to us, of which three million euros for projects such as a national forest fire risk assessment, monitoring programs, early warning systems and risk communication,” explains Forestry Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP).
“Forest fire action program” developed
The forest fire action program has also been developed together with experts. It also contains five simple rules of conduct when there is a risk of wildfires.
“No smoking, no fire!”
“This includes not smoking in the forest, not making fires and adhering to official bans when there is a risk of forest fires,” said Totschnig.
In addition, the program also includes far-reaching solutions such as integrated forest fire management, prevention through targeted research, adapted forest management and awareness raising.
Source: Krone
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