Helicopter called in to tackle Ida-Viru County wildfire

A rescue helicopter had to be pressed into service to tackle a wildfire which broke out in a remote area of Ida-Viru County on Monday, regional daily Põhjarannik reports. The blaze is under control at the time of writing, but not fully expunged.
Rescue Board (Päästeamet) personnel from Iisaku and Jõhvi attended the scene near Puhatu järv, Alutaguse Rural Municipality in Ida-Viru County, shortly before 8 p.m. on Monday – the only land access to the site is via a footpath, and even locating this route required the aid of local knowledge.
The director of operations also made use of a land and sea rescue center helicopter to join in with the extinguishing work; this arrived at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, with the necessary equipment.
Fire hoses were laid down, while water was also dumped on the blaze from the helicopter.
This all had the effect of containing the bulk of the fire, covering an area of around 3ha – far smaller than a 200ha wildfire which reportedly raged in the same area back in 2008 - while it will likely be declared fully extinguished in the coming days, Põhjarannik reports.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Postimees