Drones and helicopters help fight forest fire in Bavarian Alps

Emergency workers in the southern German state of Bavaria are fighting a fire that has broken out in a mountain forest.

More than 200 firefighters, mountain rescue volunteers, ambulance service personnel and police officers were battling the flames on Thursday using helicopters and sprinkler systems in the rugged terrain near the summit of the Hochwand in the Chiemgau Alps.

"People are being asked to keep their windows and doors closed, switch off ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and avoid the area around the incident site," said a spokesman for the local fire service.

A distinct column of smoke was visible in the summit area at just under 1,000 metres above sea level when the alarm was raised on Wednesday evening.

However, the full extent of the fire remained unclear even by Thursday lunchtime. "Fighting wildfires in mountain forests is very difficult," explained the fire service spokesman. "It's not like a field that's 100 metres long and 60 metres wide, giving you 6,000 square metres. Here, it goes up and down, back and forth."

Drones and helicopters have been deployed to help establish the extent of the affected area, and transport water. The area around the fire is being doused with water from fire hoses to help limit the spread of the blaze.

The fire service spokesman said it was also not possible to comment on the cause of the fire at this stage. However, he said no one has been injured.