Swiss order hang gliders to stay away, closing air space as firefighters battle forest inferno

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss authorities have temporarily shut the airspace over a small part of southwestern Switzerland because recreational gliders in the area have endangered the work of emergency teams battling a persistent forest fire. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation says the restrictions in an airspace of up to 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) over a wooded mountainside near the town of Bitsch will last through next Friday. The measure affects civil aircraft and drones and is aimed “to protect the ongoing activities of response teams on the ground and in the air,” the office said.