Forest fire in Valais
No injuries, 200 residents evacuated and 100 hectares affected
The intervention to bring the forest fire from Bitsch (VS) under control will last several more days. The area concerned is approximately 100 hectares.
Published18 July 2023, 09:34
After a night of fighting the forest fire above Bitsch (VS), at least some good news fell on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., when the authorities of the municipality of Bitsch (VS) expressed. “So far, we have no reports of injured people,” said commune president Edgar Kuonen. This is in particular because several places have been evacuated. A total of 205 people left their homes on Monday evening and were mostly staying with relatives. A dozen were supported by the Commune.
“It’s still too early,” added Edgar Kuonen when discussing the possible causes of the fire. The time is still at extinction. “In the afternoon, the wind strengthens. We hope that by noon we will already have good results,” he said. Many helicopters took part or are still taking part in the operations on Tuesday, in particular K-Max and Super Puma from the army and reinforcements from Air Zermatt.
Tuesday morning, smoke still rose from the forest above Bitsch.
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But efforts are also being made on the ground. Homes were protected before the fire spread to them. Materials were removed from around the houses. “Without this work, buildings would have been affected,” said the president of the municipality. In total, the area on which the efforts are carried out is made up of approximately 100 hectares, within which certain areas are however intact.
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