National park: forest fire in the Czech Republic near the German border

national park
Forest fire in the Czech Republic near the German border

Firefighting operations in the Czech National Park Bohemian Switzerland on Ascension Day. photo

© Stastný Jan/CTK/dpa

The forest fire disaster in the Czech National Park Bohemian Switzerland was barely a year ago. A fire has now broken out in the area. Did a Father’s Day trip get out of control?

After a forest fire on Father’s Day in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park near the border with Saxony, the police in the Czech Republic are investigating a German. The suspect was arrested on the spot shortly after the fire broke out on Thursday, said a police spokeswoman in Usti nad Labem (Aussig an der Elbe) on Friday.

The man was accused of “endangering the public,” it said. An alcohol test was positive. Whether he acted intentionally or negligently is still the subject of the investigation. Witnesses claim to have seen a group of visitors handling fireworks.

The Bohemian Switzerland National Park borders directly on the Saxon Switzerland. The fire broke out on Thursday afternoon and covered an area of ​​around half a hectare between the Prebischtor, a sandstone rock gate, and the state border with Germany.

No embers could be discovered anymore

Nine extinguishing units brought the flames under control after several hours. The fire brigade called out the second highest alert level. The operation could only be ended on Friday morning after a night watch after no more embers were discovered with a thermal imaging camera.

According to the national park administration, there were an unusually large number of visitors in the park because of the public holiday in Germany. The access route to the Prebischtor had to be temporarily closed. On the side of the Saxon Switzerland National Park, the National Park Guard checked whether the fire threatened to cross the border, as it was said. The Bad Schandau fire brigade was already on site for this case.

At the end of July last year, there was a forest fire in Bohemian Switzerland, which destroyed around 1,600 hectares of forest. At that time, the fire also spread to the neighboring German national park Saxon Switzerland. Arson was suspected. The police did not provide any information on the current status of the investigation when asked by the dpa. Media reports that a suspect had made a confession have been neither confirmed nor denied.

dpa

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