The Adelboden-Lenk ski resort in Switzerland is investigating whether the extensive snowmaking infrastructure it relies on for winter operations — including dozens of kilometres of underground water pipes, reservoirs, 210 snow cannons and 50 snow lances — could be deployed to help fight wildfires during summer months, as Swiss authorities assess wildfire risk as high across nearly the entire country, including the Bern region where Adelboden is located.
Swiss ski resort explores repurposing snowmaking infrastructure to combat wildfires
The Adelboden-Lenk ski resort in Switzerland is investigating whether the extensive snowmaking infrastructure it relies on for winter operations — including dozens of kilometres of underground water pipes, reservoirs, 210 snow cannons and 50 snow lances — could be deployed to help fight wildfires during summer months, as Swiss authorities assess wildfire risk as high across nearly the entire country, including the Bern region where Adelboden is located.
Glaciers in Switzerland and across the Alps have been retreating rapidly in recent years, and snowfall has become less frequent and reliable over recent decades. At the Adelboden-Lenk area, whose roughly 200 kilometres (125 miles) of slopes span altitudes between 1,000 and 2,300 metres (3,280 and 7,545 feet), an estimated 70% of the snow on the slopes is now made artificially.
Jürg Klopfenstein, who oversees snowmaking operations at the resort, said the infrastructure's primary wildfire value lies not in the snow cannons themselves but in the water reservoirs and pipe network. 'We can help firefighters with our infrastructure,' he said. 'Not primarily with our snow cannons, which can mainly be used to water the fields or aim them at surrounding infrastructure. But firefighters can use our infrastructure, and helicopters can refill their tanks using our water reservoirs.' The reservoirs collect rainfall and melting snow during warmer months for use in snow production during the ski season.
In the event of a fire, the system could be used to create wet buffer areas, slowing the spread of flames and providing time for emergency services and air support to arrive.
Stefan Buchs, the resort's operations manager, acknowledged that differences in vegetation types and soil humidity levels mean the large and frequent fires seen in southern Europe cannot be directly compared to conditions in the Alps. Nevertheless, he said 'widespread wildfires are a likely scenario,' adding that resort management had already discussed the threat with local firefighters who confirmed that dryness is a concern even in spring.
Adelboden Mayor Willy Schranz said the area must be prepared, stating: 'I am sure it won't be the last summer like this one.' Switzerland has not experienced large-scale fires so far this year, though it is suffering from drought.
Nathan Solothurnmann, a climate change expert with Greenpeace, urged caution about the long-term significance of the proposal. 'This watering system that they're planning in Adelboden might for sure help for a while,' he said. 'But of course the changes we're facing (are) much worse. All those types of adaptations, they just help for a while.' He also noted that the approach is not replicable across most of Switzerland: 'In most parts of Switzerland, there are no pipes buried underground that we can use when a forest is burning.'
- No formal agreement or timeline between the resort and local fire authorities has been reported; it is unclear whether the arrangement has moved beyond exploratory discussions.
- The cost or engineering requirements of adapting the snowmaking system for firefighting use are not addressed in any source.
- No response or assessment from Swiss national authorities or cantonal fire services has been included.
- The sources do not specify which neighbouring countries have experienced the large-scale fires referenced in comparison to Switzerland.
- It is not established whether any other ski resorts in Switzerland or elsewhere are pursuing similar dual-use infrastructure approaches.
- The Independent — original — by Y. Hernán Muñoz
- Associated Press — by Hernán Muñoz
Read the original at The Independent