Evacuated residents of Hřensko return to their homes

Evacuated residents of the Hřensko district started to return to their homes on Saturday morning. Dozens of people from the villages of Mezná and Mezní Louka had to be evacuated on July 25 due to a large-scale forest fire in the Bohemian Switzerland national park.

However, the area continues to be closed off for tourists, with the Environment Ministry extending the entry restriction into the park until August 31. The park will also remain completely closed during night time.

The forest fire, which ravaged around 1,000 hectares of land, was declared fully extinguished on Friday after a 20-day-battle. Fire-fighters will remain on site until the end of August to check for hidden outbreaks that may still appear later on.