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Drama in Brandenburg: Forest fires break out – danger from ammunition!
Forest fires in Brandenburg: New fires in the Spree-Neiße district, 30 fire engines in use, high warning levels. Relevant information here.
Drama in Brandenburg: Forest fires break out – danger from ammunition!
A dangerous forest fire has been raging in Gohrischheide, a former military training area, since Tuesday, presenting the fire department with immense challenges. The situation is explosive: The fire broke out near a bomb site used by the explosive ordnance disposal service and is accompanied by old ammunition, including remnants from the GDR and the Second World War. This means that the emergency services have to maintain a safety distance of 1,000 meters from the source of the fire, which makes extinguishing work considerably more difficult. This is what he reports MDR.
Around four hectares of forest are currently on fire and the fire department is on duty with around 30 fire engines. Nevertheless, the firefighting work has been severely affected by the explosions, which have been heard repeatedly since Tuesday evening. “Direct extinguishing is not possible due to the ammunition-contaminated environment,” explains Raiko Riedel from the Zeithain fire department. The prospect of longer extinguishing work is in the room, as smaller detonations were repeatedly heard on Wednesday afternoon.
Situation in Brandenburg and supra-regional effects
The problem is not just limited to the Gohrischheide. According to that Deutschlandfunk Several fires broke out in Brandenburg, especially in the Spree-Neiße district and in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz. Here too, the situation has been brought more or less under control, but the high forest fire warning level is causing concern in many regions of Germany, especially in the southeastern half. There is also currently a fire in a forest area in the Meißen district, which is making the situation even more tense.
However, current weather forecasts point to rains coming soon, which could significantly reduce the risk of wildfires. This circumstance could bring much-needed relief to many regional fire departments.
A look at the forest fire statistics
Another worrying phenomenon is the increasing number of fires with unknown causes. Human behavior, such as arson or carelessness, is responsible in around 40% of cases. For this reason, it remains important to take preventive measures to protect forests and minimize the risk of fires in the long term.
The coming days will show whether the forecast rains can defuse the situation. Until then, emergency services will remain on high alert.