In Bohemian Switzerland, teenagers lit a campfire near Pravčická brána and walked off — group leader fined 10,000 crowns

On Thursday morning, a group of minors together with their group leader lit a campfire under a rock overhang near the Cave of the Bohemian Brethren, not far from the famous Pravčická brána arch in Bohemian Switzerland National Park. Before moving on along the trail, they failed to put out the fire and simply left it burning.

The smouldering fire was spotted by staff at the nearby Sokolí hnízdo (Falcon's Nest) castle, who noticed the smell of smoke coming from the group of children as they passed by. "It seemed odd to us, so we decided to take a closer look. We found a fire burning under the overhang and immediately called the firefighters and forest rangers," Sokolí hnízdo staff wrote on social media.

How the fire was extinguished

Castle staff first doused the smouldering embers themselves with water they had on hand. Firefighters from Hřensko then arrived and soaked the entire area to completely rule out the risk of the fire flaring up again, according to the administration of Bohemian Switzerland National Park.

A drone equipped with a thermal camera was also sent to the Cave of the Bohemian Brethren, allowing specialists to check the surrounding area under the rock overhang for any remaining hot spots.

On-the-spot fine

Thanks to a description of the group's appearance, park rangers working together with Hřensko municipal police managed to catch up with the leader and his group about three kilometres from the site of the abandoned campfire. For lighting a fire in a prohibited area, the group leader was issued the maximum possible on-the-spot fine — 10,000 crowns, the park administration confirmed.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz