Huge forest fire in Saxony: Bundeswehr fights against blazing flames!

Huge forest fire in Saxony: Bundeswehr fights against blazing flames!

Gohrischheide, Deutschland - A violent forest fire on the national border between Saxony and Brandenburg has been in suspense for six days now. The fire, which broke out in the Gohrischheide, a former military training area of the Soviet Army, has already affected around 1000 hectares of pine forest. The situation is made more difficult by the presence of old ammunition in the soil, which leads to dangerous explosions and also endangers the work of the firefighters. This reports Image

hundreds of emergency services, including the fire brigade, technical relief organization (THW), federal police and the Bundeswehr, fight together against the flames. The Bundeswehr has deployed the coaching tank to create fire trucks, and several fire -fighting helicopters and police water cannons are also on duty. For example, around 180,000 liters of water were thrown off at 100 approaches. The challenge is great because the weather conditions have intensified: a change of wind and rising temperatures make a good knack in fire fighting.

evacuations and foci

An important topic is the evacuations that already affect Jacobsthal train station and Heidehäuser. Residents are asked to keep windows and doors closed, as clouds of smoke also move to Berlin. In addition, 45 people from Jacobsthal train station had to be evacuated on Friday evening. There are also fires in the neighboring towns of Neudorf and Lichtenensee, but so far without acute danger to the houses. The district office estimates the affected area at around 200 to 1300 hectares, while the fire brigade speaks of 1000 hectares.

A total of four foci have been identified, which are located near Jacobsthal, Neudorf, and Lichtenensee. The fire brigade and THW have decided to change tactics: they rely on flat deletion to relax the situation, while the fire fighting continues to be more difficult, since the emergency services have to adhere to a distance of 1000 meters due to the risk of detonation.

climate change as a background

The current incident makes it clear that forest fires in Germany increase and are favored by climate factors. Relevant studies show that dry and heat periods are becoming increasingly common, which increases the risk of forest fires. In 2023, over 1200 hectares were destroyed by fires in Germany. A review of the past few years reveals that in 2022 with over 3000 hectares the highest number of forest fires in the past 30 years has been recorded. This reports Statista .

Despite the difficult situation, there is hope for raindies that have been announced for Monday and Tuesday. In the meantime, the emergency services remain active around the clock to prevent the spread of the fire. It continues to work with high pressure on the containment of the foci, while the conversations about possible weaknesses in forest fire protection also become loud in politics.

The next few days will be crucial for both the firefighters and for the residents who live near the fire area. Let's hope for soon improvement and successful fire fighting! The affected communities need our support and solidarity in these challenging times.