Polish firefighters and police to help tackle fire in Czech national park

"We have offered friends from Czechia and Germany to help in fight against the fire in the National Park Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland. Our GFFFV modules are ready to provide help" - chief commander of Polish State Fire Service Andrzej Bartkowiak said on Twitter.

"Already today firefighters from @KGPSP (State Fire Service Main Command) together with @PolskaPolicja (Polish Police) with the use of a #BlackHawk helicopter and a Bambi Bucket container will help to fight the fire in the National Park Bohemian and Saxon Switzerland," Bartkowiak added. He also said the Czech side had accepted Poland's offer of help.

Czech Minister of the Interior Vit Rakusan said on Tuesday in Hrensko - located in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park - that Poland, Slovakia and Italy had agreed to help in battling the massive fire.

The declared help includes firefighting helicopters able to carry up to 3,000 litres of water, and planes with 6,000-litre tanks - Czech Fire Service said.

Rakusan thanked for the offered support and assured it would be sufficient, as a higher number of planes and helicopters would complicate air traffic control in the area.

The Czechs have dispatched 83 firefighting units to the national park - a total of approx. 400 firemen from seven regions of the country. The operation is supported from air by four helicopters and two planes. Only half of the dispatched firefighters are professionals, while the rest are volunteers.

Director General of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic Vladimir Vlcek said it was too early to say when the mission would end and that it would largely depend on the weather, especially the force and direction of the wind. He added there was no necessity to introduce a state of emergency.

Firefighters reinforced by units from neighbouring Germany battled a wildfire in a Czech national park on Tuesday which has destroyed houses and forced authorities to evacuate villages. The blaze covering around 30 hectares in a popular tourist area on the German border sent smoke drifting across the country, including to the capital Prague located some 130 miles away, Prague and regional fire departments said on Twitter.

Firefighters, who suspect a park visitor started the blaze after leaving a campfire unattended over the weekend in the area known as Czech Switzerland, had the situation under control until changing winds fuelled the wildfire. A brutal heat wave last week with temperature spikes above 40 Celsius led to wildfires across swathes of southern Europe.