Large forest fire in South Tyrol: Hundreds are fighting the flames

The flames can be seen from miles away.

A forest fire broke out on the Marlinger Berg in Meran.

The cause of the fire is apparently already clear.

Meran – Hundreds of volunteer firefighters in the Bolzano and Meran region are fighting a forest fire on the Marlinger Berg in South Tyrol.

The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon (February 4) and has spread to around 50 hectares.

Firefighting is difficult.

The fire brigade was prevented from spreading overnight, tweeted the regional association of volunteer fire brigades in South Tyrol (LFV Südtirol).

Large forest fire in South Tyrol: Hundreds are fighting the flames

According to the early morning hours on Sunday, two firefighting helicopters are in action.

Strong winds made things difficult for the emergency services.

They kept heating up the flames, reports the news portal

The wind has calmed down a bit in the meantime, but according to the state warning center it will remain windy on Sunday.

Around 250 emergency services extinguished the forest fire from three sides (west, north and east).

The terrain was too steep from the south side.

"In the night hours, the emergency services were reduced to a minimum in order to have enough crew available again in the morning," said the Marlengo volunteer fire brigade, according to

.

#Infointervento: VVF Marlengo - 05.02.23 - sono proseguiti tutta la notte i lavori di spegnimento del vasto incendio boschivo sopra Marlengo.

Agli oltre 200 vigili in intervento è stato possible limitare l'ulteriore propagazione dell'incendio pic.twitter.com/I7LlQlQOtD

— LFV Südtirol 🚒 UVF Alto Adige (@LFVSuedtirol) February 5, 2023

South Tyrol: Large forest fire in Meran – the cause of the fire is well established

The forest fire in Meran was probably triggered by flying sparks.

A power line was sighted on the ground, it is said.

In South Tyrol on Saturday there was an “orange warning” due to snowfall and wind peaks of up to 100 km/h.

Other Alpine regions were also affected by snowfall and wind.

In Austria, the avalanche situation came to a head.

In Tyrol alone, 30 avalanches were reported in a short time.

Authorities warned urgently.

More than three people lost their lives in an avalanche.

The search for three buried people was too dangerous even for mountain rescuers on Saturday.