VIENNA, 14th August, 2026 (WAM) -- More than 30 firefighting teams were mobilised on Friday afternoon to battle a major wildfire that broke out in a pine forest in St. Egyden, Lower Austria, prompting the evacuation of a nearby residential area and road closures.
Mario Lukas, the district fire chief, said the alert level had been raised to the highest level, B4, due to the rapid spread of the flames amid extreme heat and strong winds, with the fire coming within just 100 metres of homes.
The incident came around a week after a similar fire was extinguished in the same area. That blaze burned around 100 hectares and took five days to bring under control.