Great fire in Gohrischheide: emergency services fight against flames!

Great fire in Gohrischheide: emergency services fight against flames!

Gohrischheide, Deutschland - The forest fire in the Gohrischheide, which rages on the border between Saxony and Brandenburg, has clearly gained in explosive today. Around 600 hectares are affected, and over 200 firefighters and farmers come to fight the blazing flames during the night. "The situation has escalated," as Brandenburg's forest fire protection officer Raimund Engel describes. In the places of Jacobsthal, Heidehäuser and Lichtenensee, emergency services fight day and night, while the fire moves up to about 150 meters to the street, such as mdr reported.

unforeseen turns

Yesterday evening, an evacuation warning for Lichtenensee was pronounced, but later withdrawn after an unexpected wind turn. "It is important to keep the position," emphasizes the operations management. Meanwhile, the head of operations and Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) is on site to discuss the situation and to do coordination. The Bundeswehr fire brigade is expected for the evening to protect the Bundeswehr's material warehouse. Extinguishing helicopters are also in preparation, but only for the areas without contaminated ammunition.

the danger situation and the current emergency power

The inconsistent situation is reinforced by dangerous conditions. The dynamic operational process causes safety distances of 1,000 meters to be observed via contaminated terrain, since ammunition stored in the ground can explode. This makes the use of firefighters and the helicopter particularly dangerous and complicated. The number of firefighters increased in the Gohrischheide from 156 to 180.

forest fires like this are not an isolated case; They are favored by increasing dry and heat periods as a result of climate change. In Germany, the forests are increasingly at risk. According to Statista , over 1,200 hectares were destroyed by forest fires in 2023, and the most common causes of fire are arson and negligence. The landscape needs our attention, because the effects on the environment and health are enormous.

an outlook for the next few days

The forecasts show that the fire could probably last until the beginning of next week, depending on the weather. The emergency services are ready to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby residential buildings. Mayor Mirko Pollmer von Zeithain has already expressed concerns about the financial consequences of the large -scale deployment, while the firefighters and farmers continue to fight tirelessly to prevent the worst.

The fires in this region are not only a challenge for our fire brigade and auxiliary services, but also remind us of the need to protect the forest and our environment. Because the threat from forest fires is real - and it often lurks closer than we think.