Forest fire risk level raised in parts of Switzerland
On Thursday, the Federal Office for the Environment raised the forest fire risk in parts of the canton of Valais to warning level 4 out of 5. There is also a high risk of forest fires in the cantons of Aargau, Zurich, Lucerne, Uri, Glarus and St Gallen.
The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has raised the fire danger level in the canton of Valais to level 4 (high risk) for the regions of Aletsch, Anniviers, Arpille, Bagnes and Evolène. This is the second-highest level on a scale of 1 to 5. Under these conditions, burning matches, flying embers from a barbecue and lightning strikes are very likely to start a fire.
The speed at which the fire spreads is also high in woodland. It was stated that combating such forest fires is difficult, and that extinguishing them is extremely labour-intensive.
A very high risk of forest fires has already been in place in the Valais since June 23 in the regions of Sion, Simplon, Fully, Riddes, Montana and the Vispertal.
Translated from German/sub-editing gw
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