Life Bitsch and Fiesch villages evacuated because of forest fire Posted on July 18, 2023 2 min read Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ A large forest fire broke out in a tourist area in southern Switzerland on Monday. Residents of two villages have been evacuated and more than 150 firefighters have been deployed to fight the fire. Residents of the villages of Bitsch and Fiesch have been evacuated, police reported. Authorities are warning of falling rocks. It is not yet clear how many square metres are on fire, but there is talk of “a big fire with a lot of smoke”, reports a police spokesman. More than 150 firefighters have been deployed to extinguish the blaze. They are getting help from four firefighting helicopters. The army is sending an additional helicopter to the area. The firefighting operations continue on Tuesday morning. A strong wind is fanning the flames and making extinguishing difficult. According to Swiss broadcaster SRF, a tourist area is involved. The fire is taking place in the canton of Valais, on the border with Italy. The police in particular ask all foreign guests to follow the instructions of the police and fire brigade carefully and not to go hiking in the affected area.
