Several fires broke out in and around Szeged on Saturday, with firefighters battling flames across thousands of square metres and railway traffic temporarily suspended because of one of the incidents.
One of the largest fires was reported near Vértói Road and Merkúr Road, where dry grass and fallen leaves caught fire alongside the railway tracks. Firefighters from Makó, Ruzsa, Hódmezővásárhely and Kiskunmajsa were deployed under the direction of the Csongrád-Csanád County disaster management operations service.
The flames threatened a nearby solar park, but firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the facility. Railway traffic between Sándorfalvi Road and Vértói Road was also suspended temporarily because of the fire. The flames were surrounded using six water jets.
Hay bales and buildings also catch fire
Firefighters were also called to Erdőszéli Road, where around 60 large round hay bales caught fire. A shed and a trailer also caught fire in the incident. Firefighters from Szeged and Kistelek managed to extinguish the flames and were carrying out follow-up operations.
The fire involving the bales is expected to require additional work as crews separate the piles to deal with the remaining hot spots.
Woodland vegetation catches fire
Another fire broke out along Bordányi Road, where approximately 2,000 square metres of woodland undergrowth, dry grass and fallen leaves caught fire.
The flames posed a threat to an unoccupied farmstead, but firefighters were able to contain the situation. Crews from the Szeged professional fire service continued working at the scene, with firefighting water supplied by a local volunteer association’s water tanker.
Authorities warned that operations at the site could continue for an extended period.
Dry vegetation increases fire risk
The incidents show the heightened fire risk created by dry vegetation during the summer. Firefighters were required to respond to several separate locations around Szeged within a short period, including another vegetation fire along Vértói Road covering roughly 1.5 hectares.
The emergency services deployed crews from several surrounding towns to deal with the outbreaks and prevent the flames from spreading to nearby infrastructure and buildings. Residents in the affected areas are advised to follow instructions from emergency services and avoid approaching active firefighting operations.
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Hungary is becoming an ecological disaster zone. Hungarians are now paying dearly for all of the engineering they did generations ago straightening rivers, draining marshes and eliminating flood plains. They have been sending all the water out down river. I will repeat what I posted before about Czech 16th century engineering to keep in water creating a lush 70,000 hectare area with 460 fish ponds in the Trebon basin. It’s now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. THOSE people were smart.