An illegally set up barbecue spot caused a forest fire on Friday evening at Breitenberg in Hohenems, Vorarlberg (Dornbirn district). Unknown individuals had ignited the fire despite a ban. After leaving the grill spot, the fire was not completely extinguished, causing it to spread rapidly, aided by dryness and föhn winds. After several hours, a large force of emergency services managed to bring the flames under control.

According to the police, the fire was noticed by passers-by from the Unterklien and Dornbirn areas. When the Hohenems fire department arrived, the flames had already spread over a distance of approximately 100 meters towards the north into the adjacent forest area. Several fire brigades from across the region eventually contained the fire above the cliff edge.

Major Operation with Some Challenges

The situation below the cliff edge proved to be more challenging, according to the authorities. Two firefighters, secured by mountain rescue, were lowered down to extinguish the embers. A drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera also supported the firefighting efforts from the air. Fire trucks could only reach about 300 meters from the fire site. Water transport was carried out using long hose lines, bringing about 60,000 liters of water from the Emsreute pond and the Schuttannen reservoir to the fire.

A total of 147 firefighters from eight fire brigades with 23 vehicles were involved in the operation. Additionally, seven mountain rescuers, eight police officers, three emergency responders, a municipal construction site worker, and the mayor and district authority representatives from Dornbirn were at the scene. The fire was completely extinguished shortly after 1:00 a.m.