The risk of forest fires in Brandenburg remains dramatically high despite the rain!

The risk of forest fires in Brandenburg remains dramatically high despite the rain!

The risk of forest fires in Brandenburg remains high despite some rainfall. Forest fire protection officer Raimund Engel made this clear on Monday morning. Only local showers were observed during the night, which did not noticeably reduce the risk. Engel emphasizes: “The lowered forest fire danger levels do not adequately reflect the real danger.” This has so far made it impossible to give the all-clear, as widespread rain would be urgently needed to ease the situation. Another forest fire was reported in Grünheide (Oder-Spree district), which underlines the ongoing problem.

The highest danger level currently applies to Havelland is 5. In most other districts, the risk of forest fires is between level 3 (medium danger) and level 1 (low danger). Despite this scale, it is important to remember that Brandenburg has an impressive forest area of ​​around 1.1 million hectares, which corresponds to more than 37 percent of the state's total area. The challenge is enormous because human activity is responsible for over 90 percent of all forest fires. The Ministry of Agriculture, the Environment and Western Pomerania has already made this clear.

Causes and precautions

Although lightning is the only natural cause of forest fires, it is usually people who start the devastating fires through carelessness or even arson. The Federal Environment Agency also found that between 1991 and 2017 the area of ​​forest fires in Germany decreased significantly, while the weather-related risk remained the same or even increased in some regions. However, in 2018 and 2019, which were characterized by extreme drought, there was an increase in forest fires, particularly in the northeastern federal states.

In Brandenburg, forest fires are a relevant risk, which is not least due to the weather conditions. The amount of combustible material, the weather and the inventory structure play a crucial role. To minimize the risk, it is essential to follow precautionary measures. Violations of the relevant regulations, according to Section 23 of the Forest Act, can be punished with fines of up to 20,000 euros.

Trend and outlook

Developments in recent years show that an average of 124 days with danger levels of 4 or 5 were reported in areas particularly at risk of forest fires in 2018. Brandenburg was particularly affected, where 512 fires were recorded, affecting 1,674 hectares of forest. The most significant fire took place in Jüterbog and affected 573.72 hectares. The challenges in forest fire prevention are expected to increase. Targeted measures to improve the systems and the training of emergency services are therefore essential.

In summary, it can be said that the risk of forest fires in the country remains high, even if there was hope for a short-term improvement after a rainy weekend. The Umweltbundesamt appeals to take the existing risks seriously and take the necessary precautionary measures to effectively prevent forest fires.