The Wallis Forest Fire has Spread “Explosively” in the Night
Published: Tuesday, Jul 18th 2023, 07:00
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The forest fire in the Upper Valais region of Switzerland spread "explosively" overnight on Tuesday, according to Air Zermatt, a local helicopter company. On Tuesday, several large helicopters were deployed to help contain the fire. Air Zermatt and Air-Glaciers, another helicopter company from the Valais region, had two helicopters in operation overnight for safety reasons. The darkness, smoke, and precise dropping of water on the fire sources posed a great challenge for the pilots at night. On Tuesday, large helicopters of the K-Max or Super Puma type were deployed. It is of utmost priority that the fire does not spread further towards Riederalp. It is expected that the firefighting efforts will take days. The fire was discovered late Monday afternoon and quickly spread due to the strong wind in the Rhone Valley and the dry terrain. The population of several villages in the Ried-Mörel area was evacuated. Eduard Kuonen, the mayor of the affected municipality of Bitsch VS, said on Swiss radio SRF that the fire was large and frightening. The fire chief and fire commander Mario Schaller said on the radio that when a tree catches fire, it is like a torch. "It is really a dangerous situation".
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