Waldbrand in Thale: 200 firefighters save the Harz!

Waldbrand in Thale: 200 firefighters save the Harz!

Thale, Deutschland - On July 1, 2025, a forest fire broke out in the Harz Mountains near Thale, raged over an area of ​​around 4,000 square meters. The fire, which started around 4:45 p.m., could be brought under control with a strong commitment of around 200 firefighting comrades from the Harz district until 8:45 p.m., so mz.de reported. High temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius made the extinguishing work difficult and led to critical conditions.

To support the fire brigade, the fire aircraft "Hexe 1" was used, which was eliminated until 9:30 p.m. This plane can drain 2,000 liters of water every 20 minutes, which is crucial in such large -scale fires. In Germany, such fire -fighting aircraft are rather rare, since the local fire brigades can often work with well -developed areas. Nevertheless, in emergencies, helicopters are used by the Bundeswehr and the Federal Police, which can transport up to 5 tons of extinguishing water, as [Br.de explains] (https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wirtschaft/fliegende-feuerwehr-so-waldbraende-geloescht,

challenges in fire fighting

Combating forest fires often represents a significant challenge. Especially in mountainous and inaccessible areas, there is often a lack of roads, which makes it difficult to mobilize the fire brigade. In addition, parts of the surface are often contaminated with ammunition residues. In such cases, air support is often the only way to effectively combat fire flocks.

After the main extinguishing work, special tools, such as the Gorgui-V2 EGGE, were used to combat deep foci. This post -extinguishing work was ended at around 11:15 p.m. and the last emergency services were able to complete their service at around 1 a.m.

climate change and forest fires in focus

District Administrator Thomas Balcerowski, who was also on site, praised the fire brigade's effective approach and underlined the importance of the fire -fighting aircraft. In his comment, he also pointed out the increasing danger of forest fires, which is favored by climate change. According to the data from statista.com, forest fires are not just a problem in Germany, but worldwide. In 2023, over 1,200 hectares were affected by fires in Germany, while in 2022 over 3,000 hectares burned - the highest value in the past 30 years.

The most common causes of forest fires are arson and negligence, with around half of the fires unknown to unknown causes. In view of the various challenges and the growing threat from forest fires, it is important that future measures for fire detection also include modern technologies such as monitoring satellites and drones in order to be able to react in time.