Experts advocate better precautions against fires: forest paths and more extinguishing coils are needed

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A mountain on fire. At Bitsch VS, trees burn like tinder, clouds of smoke are visible from afar. About 200 emergency services are fighting the fire, helicopters are carrying out extinguishing missions. The Swiss army also supports the local fire brigade with Super Pumas.

The fire in Bitsch impressively shows that the risk of forest fires increases with climate change – especially in Switzerland. Due to the drought, forests have repeatedly burned down in recent times. Last spring, for example, the forest near Gambarogno TI, near the Italian border, was on fire. In 2022, the Bundesamt für Civil Protection (Babs) announced that it was quite possible that large forest fires would break out in Switzerland in the future.

Wildfires are a big risk

In Switzerland there is no “Forest Fire Task Force”. The cantons involved are responsible for fighting forest fires and their duties are regulated in cantonal firefighting laws. Army funds can also be used to support military disaster relief upon request. Meanwhile, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) acts as a national warning agency and advises the cantons.

Because the risk has increased in recent years, Bernese SVP National Councilor Erich von Siebenthal (64) asked the Federal Council in 2019 to review how forest fires in Switzerland are being handled.

Federal Council proposes catalog of measures

In its 2022 report, the Federal Council stated that the cantons were generally well positioned when it came to fighting wildfires. Nevertheless, he sees room for improvement: he therefore proposes a total of 15 measures. For example, forest fire warnings should be standardized in all cantons and the national overview of the situation and precautionary planning should be improved with standardized training and refresher courses. In addition, experts must be able to unite in a pool.

The Bundesrat also states that in case of large forest fires or fires that affect several cantons at the same time, coordination of firefighting from the air is important. Switzerland does not have to purchase its own firefighting aircraft. Nevertheless, the Federal Council has commissioned an in-depth study of forest firefighting by aircraft. In Switzerland, therefore, all possible types of aircraft must be tested for their suitability for fighting forest fires.

Experts emphasize that Switzerland can still learn a lot from EU countries when it comes to fighting forest fires. “We urgently need to gain the knowledge of France and Italy, who are ahead of us in combating such events,” said Boris Previsic, 51, head of the Uri Institute for Alpine Cultures. “Switzerland would do well to join the EU civil protection.” This means that fire-fighting aircraft can be deployed quickly and there is no need to wait days for the favor of neighboring countries – as was the case with the forest fire on Monte Gambarogno in January 2022.

Learn from Southern Europe

While Switzerland has a successful flood protection system, it must recognize that it is no longer just Europe’s water tower, says Previsic. Therefore, it must actively regulate water management for increasingly longer periods of drought. “This includes the availability of water for firefighting and a national plan on where it is available,” Previsic continues.

“Ultimately, forest management is needed, as is largely established in southern Europe. This also applies to forest paths so that the fires cannot continue indefinitely.” In the mountains, protective forests protect vital infrastructure for society. All the more, protection against forest fires must be given the highest priority.

Peter Zbinden (65), team leader at @fire Switzerland, a non-profit organization that is used, among other things, to fight forest and forest fires, is of a similar opinion. He says: “Spain, Portugal, France and Italy in particular are very well positioned when it comes to fighting forest fires and have a lot of experience. Some of these countries have special units to fight forest fires.”

In Switzerland it is a bit different. “South of the Alps, especially in the cantons of Graubünden, Ticino and Valais, the fire brigades are well trained in fighting forest fires, because larger forest fires regularly break out there.”

In the cantons north of the Alps, on the other hand, people are still insufficiently sensitized and trained. This also has to do with the fact that the Mittelland has a completely different vegetation than the south. If there is a fire there, 80 percent of the time they are ground fires of a smaller size – these are less sensitive than the wildfires in the sometimes steep terrain in the south with more sensitive vegetation.

After all: “Because of climate change, fire brigades of the Central Plateau increasingly rely on training in forest firefighting, the subject is becoming increasingly important,” says the expert.

Source:Blick