Saxon Switzerland and Czech Republic: Short rain

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Photo: Robert Michael / picture alliance / dpa

In the case of the forest fires in Saxon Switzerland, rain on Saturday did not ease the situation.

It rained heavily for only 15 minutes, said the spokesman for the district of Saxon Switzerland-Osterzgebirge, Thomas Kunz, in the evening of the German Press Agency.

The only effect was that because of the precipitation, smoke rose from embers and these became visible.

"If the weather doesn't change, there's no chance of improvement," said Kunz.

The forces had hoped for rain in the fight against the flames that had been blazing on the border with the Czech Republic since last Monday.

An end to the mission is not in sight.

"We no longer calculate in days, we calculate in weeks," said the spokesman.

"The situation is still tense." In the northern operational area on the national border, the fire continued in the evening, reported Kunz.

A new fire broke out in the area called Bärenfangmauer.

According to the spokesman, 560 emergency services were on site on Saturday, including most of the voluntary fire brigades, but also from the technical relief organization and the Red Cross.

The extinguishing work would also be supported on the Czech side.

In Saxon Switzerland, which is popular with holidaymakers, around 150 hectares of forest are affected by the fires - an area almost as large as the island of Heligoland.

In the Czech Republic, the area is significantly larger.

The Czech fire brigade is also 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.

"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.

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.

A firefighter was hit and seriously injured by a falling tree on Saturday afternoon in the vicinity of the Prebischtor, which is considered a landmark of the national park.

He was taken to the hospital by helicopter.

Another man suffered a serious allergic reaction to bee and wasp stings, and another seriously injured his leg.

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.

dop/dpa