Wald fire in the Harz: Despite progress, the ban on entering remains!

Wald fire in the Harz: Despite progress, the ban on entering remains!

Goslar, Deutschland - in the Harz has been burning since Sunday, June 24, 2025, above the Granetalsperre. Firefighters are in constant use to control this large forest fire. Already at the beginning of the operation, the fire spread was noticeable due to high temperatures and strong winds. Over 320 firefighters and numerous helpers are active until Tuesday, June 26th and have now been able to stabilize the situation, but the flames are not completely deleted, like NDR reported.

The effort was particularly challenging, since onlookers disabled the extinguishing work by blocking paths and firefighting vehicles followed. In order to protect the emergency services and avoid dangers, the fire area between the Granetalsperre and Goslar remains in a spacious manner. City fire chief Christian Hellmeier points out that the last embers could have gone out by the weekend. These embers are sometimes up to 50 cm deep in the ground.

weather conditions and technology in use

The changing weather conditions play a crucial role in the fight against the flames. While strong winds made the extinguishing work difficult, an increased humidity of over 50% favored combating fire on Tuesday. However, what should also be considered: The use of extinguishing aircraft was often limited due to the wind conditions. On Monday, the "Hexe 1" extinguishing aircraft could not be used at times, which made the extinguishing work more difficult, reports the City of Goslar .

To monitor the location, a drone with thermal imaging camera is used in use in order to locate all embers nests and delete them in a targeted manner. In addition to the trained forces, the fire brigade is also supported by specialized GFFF-V units, which specialize primarily in forest fires. Despite the difficult circumstances, the participation of all forces, such as the fire brigade, mountain rescue and THW, is unbroken, and the operation has been accident -free so far.

climatic changes and forest fires

forest fires are not only a growing problem in Germany. According to statistics, they are increasingly favored by dry summer and longer heat periods in the course of climate change. As explained Statista , over 1,200 hectares of forest in Germany were lost in 2023, with Lower Saxony and Brandenburg as hot spots.
Most forest fires often arise from arson or negligent behavior, while only a small number of natural causes can be attributed. With over 3,000 hectares of destruction in 2022, the situation was alarming and clearly showed the dangers that are associated with an increasingly drier landscape.