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Drama in Gohrischheide: Forest burning threatens villages and nature!
Emergency services battle a forest fire in Gohrischheide, Brandenburg, as evacuations and rain are announced.
Drama in Gohrischheide: Forest burning threatens villages and nature!
For five days, emergency services have been fighting a devastating forest fire in Gohrischheide, on the border between Saxony and Brandenburg. As the South Germans Reportedly, the fire-fighting work is made considerably more difficult by the munitions-contaminated earth and the constant lack of rain. Despite the tense situation, the last few nights have been relatively quiet.
A total of around 600 emergency services, including the fire department, the technical relief agency and the Bundeswehr, are on site. They receive support from a firefighting helicopter that fights the fire in daylight. However, the situation remains challenging as embers continue to flare up due to the harsh winds. Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) visited the fire area and thanked the emergency services for their tireless efforts in this difficult situation. The region is heavily contaminated with ammunition, which makes fighting the fire even more dangerous Day24 informed.
Evacuations and threats
The situation has also led to the evacuation of residents. On Friday evening, 45 people from Jacobsthal Bahnhof in the municipality of Zeithain had to leave their homes, while on Wednesday evening around 100 people were evacuated from the Heidehäuser district because the fire was only 300 meters away from the residential complex. A railway line near where the fire broke out currently remains threatened by flames. The situation also remains tense in the Neudorf/Lichtensee area, although the evacuations there have now been lifted.
The ongoing major challenges in fire-fighting work are exacerbated by the area contaminated with ammunition and the ongoing drought. The Day24 mentions that satellite images document the extent of the forest fire and that the European fire alarm system “EFFIS” records the fire locations.
Unique biodiversity in danger
The fire in Gohrischheide not only threatens residential areas, but also the valuable habitats of rare animals and plants in the fourth largest nature reserve in Saxony, which is known for its biological diversity. The concentration of soot in the air has already reached dangerous levels, with measuring stations in Radebeul-Wahnsdorf and Dresden-Nord showing values four and three times higher than usual. But the limit values have not yet been exceeded, so the health situation for the population remains under control.
The risk of forest fires in Saxony remains high, especially given the increase in fire cases in recent years. In 2022, 2,397 fires were registered across Germany, affecting around 3,058 hectares of forest, which is more than three times the average before 1991. These numbers underline how important it is to act quickly and decisively now to protect nature and minimize the impact of future disasters. Loud Environmental dialogue Fires caused by ammunition are also a serious problem, as eleven percent of fires can be traced back to such influences.
The coming days are crucial as rainfall is forecast for Monday and Tuesday, raising hopes that the situation will improve. But until then, the situation in Gohrischheide remains tense and the emergency services are doing everything they can to bring the flames under control.