Just one month ago, the large forest fire in Latsch was deemed to have been extinguished, and yesterday, Thursday at 13:15, the South Tyrol Fire Brigade received the next emergency call: Forest fire above Prad am Stilfserjoch.
400 firefighters, this time also from Val Müstair in Switzerland, just a few kilometres away, are trying to contain the 100-hectare fire. 5 helicopters are in action, but the extinguishing work is proving more difficult than four weeks previously in Latsch. The mountain slopes are steeper here and the water supply is more complicated. For this reason, a "Super Puma" from the Zillertal had to be requested again in the evening hours. Only this is capable of transporting containers with 4000 litres of water to the fire area.
The column of smoke over Prad was immense. The plumes of smoke spread especially in the Ortler area and in the central Vinschgau Valley. The residents of Stilfs, Trafoi and Prad were urged to keep all windows and doors closed, one farm had to be evacuated and all mountain paths in the region were closed. When the helicopters had to stop extinguishing the fire as darkness fell, the fire was considered "contained".
But the fire-fighting work has been in full swing again since 5 o'clock this morning. The fire has now spread from Agums above the municipality of Prad towards the village of Stilfs due to strong north-easterly winds. "The operation will take a few more days until the last embers have been extinguished," says Christian Horrer from the Upper Venosta Valley District Fire Brigade Association.
In the mountain forest at the foot of the Stilfserjoch, many an exciting trail for mountain bikers winds its way down to Prad. For example, the last Waalweg descent coming down from the Goldseeweg supertrail:
However, the Stilfserjoch road is still closed for the winter anyway. The legendary 48 tarmac hairpin bends will not open to traffic until the beginning of June. The forest fires should definitely be extinguished by then.
The cause of the fire has not yet been clarified, but the rapid spread of the fire is of course also due to the prolonged drought. Val Venosta is not known for particularly abundant rainfall anyway, but it seems that extinguishing help is approaching from above: persistent rainfall is forecast for Prad next week.
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
