A discarded cigarette or cigarette ash was likely to have caused the large wildfire in Lesachtal, Carinthia, which had spread across 110 hectares of forest, police said on Wednesday.
Three forestry workers were being treated as suspects after investigators identified the likely starting point of the fire in the Promeggen forest area on Xaveriberg, where they had been carrying out reforestation work last Thursday (April 23rd), Der Standard reported.
The fire broke out a week ago and led to a major emergency operation in steep terrain. Firefighters were still working on Wednesday, the seventh day of the operation, to extinguish remaining hotspots.
What did investigators find?
According to police, witness statements and aerial images helped investigators locate the point where the fire started.
“With a high degree of probability, the cause of the fire was found to be the improper handling of smoking residues and the improper disposal of ash residues from cigarettes consumed during their work as forestry workers,” police said in a report.
The three suspects are now under investigation for negligently causing a fire. The extent of the damage had not yet been determined, and further investigations were underway by the regional criminal police office.
ORF Carinthia reported that all three had been reported to the Klagenfurt public prosecutor’s office.
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Rain helped firefighters, but hotspots remained
Rain on Wednesday helped slow the firefighting operation, but crews were still digging out buried embers. Around 15 litres per square metre fell within 24 hours, bringing “noticeable relief”, according to the fire brigade.
But the operation was not over. Firefighters continued to tackle hotspots, some of which were reportedly up to 70 centimetres below ground.
Because of the weather, helicopters could not take off for reconnaissance flights in the morning. Crews remained on standby to check from the air where hotspots were still present once conditions allowed.
A firefighting drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera was also used to locate hotspots for more precise extinguishment. By Wednesday afternoon, three helicopters were again involved in the firefighting operation.
Local firefighters were supported by a disaster relief unit from Wolfsberg and Völkermarkt. Around 150 firefighters were involved on Wednesday, according to Der Standard, while ORF reported that about 180 people were still working at the site after higher numbers earlier in the operation.
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No all-clear yet
Lesachtal mayor Bernhard Knotz, from the conservative ÖVP, said after an operations meeting that the situation was broadly under control, but a full “fire out” declaration was not expected on Wednesday.
“There are only individual hotspots left, which are being identified today using a thermal imaging camera and then turned over and extinguished by hand,” he told ORF.
“We averaged 250 to 300 people each day, and today, hopefully on the last day, still 180. The willingness to help is enormous.”
The fire also damaged young forest. Local landowner Josef Salcher told ORF that a young woodland area he had planted and maintained had burned. “We were delighted with the whole forest because it was growing and developing really well. And now this catastrophe,” he said. He added that he hoped the fire would finally be put out and that something would grow there again.
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Road could reopen partly at the weekend
The Gailtalstraße, the B111 road, was still closed between Wiesen and Maria Luggau. It was expected to reopen to traffic in one lane at the weekend, once concrete barriers had been delivered and installed.
“The widespread rain was certainly the most important thing for firefighting, in addition, of course, to all the work that has been done,” Knotz told ORF. “Nature helped itself there, thank God.”
Key vocabulary
der Waldbrand – forest fire or wildfire
die Zigarette – cigarette
die Aschereste – ash residues
das Glutnest – hotspot or smouldering pocket of embers
der Forstarbeiter – forestry worker
die Gailtalstraße – the B111 road through the Gailtal area in Carinthia
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