Fire fighters tackle forest fire over twenty-four hours

More than 100 fire fighters in the area of Melnik, northwest of Prague, spent twenty-four hours between Thursday and Friday battling a local forest fire. Crews were informed of the fire at around noon on Thursday. On Friday a police helicopter with special equipment was also deployed. Damages have been estimated at 300,000 crowns (around 15,000 USD). The fire covered four hectares of forest not close to any tourist trails. It is the second time in recent months that fire fighters have had to tackle a forest fire in the Melnik area: in March another fire caused even greater damages worth 150,000 US dollars.