State Fire Service chief Gen. Wojciech Kruczek told reporters the fire, which broke out Sunday afternoon, has not spread laterally overnight but is “burning downward into the peat,” creating hidden hot spots.
Thermal‑imaging drones pinpoint areas of elevated soil temperature, where helicopters are dropping water while ground crews flood them via a kilometer‑long hose line laid from the Biebrza River.
Another 1–1.5 km of hose will be added today “to encircle the burn and saturate every meter,” Kruczek said.
About 300 personnel—firefighters, forest rangers, Territorial Defense troops and park staff—were on scene Tuesday morning, with a 70‑strong reinforcement unit en route from Mazovia province.
A police Black Hawk helicopter and five State Forests aircraft are available after collectively dumping 344,000 liters of water on Monday.
Podlaskie governor Jacek Brzozowski called the damage “enormous” but said fire services now “have the area under control.” Park director Artur Wiatr warned the blaze is close to the Czerwone Bagno (“Red Bog”) strict reserve, critical habitat for elk, wolves, lynx and several rare bird species. So far, no wildlife injuries have been reported.
Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak joined the briefing by video link and pledged continued federal support. Authorities will keep dousing both from the air and on the ground throughout the day to prevent any resurgence.
Biebrza National Park, Poland’s largest, contains vast peat bogs that can smolder underground for days, making such fires notoriously difficult to extinguish.
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Source: Polskie Radio 24