Overheated disc brake rotors are being accused of starting a forest fire in an Austria bike park at the weekend.

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The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon at the Bikepark Brandnertal in Austria. The mountain biker and the police are both citing the cause of the fire as a hot brake rotor igniting a tuft of dry grass.

The fire started around 4pm. The fire service were able to put out the fire with the help of helicopters by 6pm. No one was endangered at any point according to police reports.

According to a report from Austrian news site Vorarlberg, “The fire was caused by a mountain biker, who put his bike in the meadow during a descent for a break. Presumably due to the overheated brake disc, a tuft of grass is likely to have ignited. Despite deletion attempts by the cyclist, the fire spread quickly. After unsuccessful deletion attempts, the mountain biker alerted the fire department.”

The police and local authorities have stated this is a reminder to exercise caution when riding in very dry areas. Although many commenters on various other reports of the incident are questioning the feasibility of a brake rotor getting sufficiently hot to start a fire.