Rakušan: Large forest fires will not be unusual in future

The minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, says large fires in the countryside in Czechia and elsewhere in Europe will not be unusual in the future. He made the comment on Monday at a news conference marking the first anniversary of a blaze in Bohemian Switzerland in the north of the country, which was the worst such event in modern Czech history.

Mr. Rakušan said it was necessary to employ more modern equipment and techniques when fighting forest fires. He said the use of aircraft had proven effective last year, which was why the state had rented two Black Hawk with buckets capable of carrying 3,000 litres of water.

Over 6,000 firefighters fought the blaze in Bohemian Switzerland for around three weeks.