Waldbrand in Gohrischheide: Flames threaten villages and forests!

Waldbrand in Gohrischheide: Flames threaten villages and forests!

A heavy forest fire in the Gohrischheide, in the Meißen district, has been causing excitement since Tuesday afternoon. According to MDR , the emergency services have to struggle with challenging conditions. Old ammunition in the ground and unfavorable weather conditions make the extinguishing work enormously difficult. The fire that spreads near the towns of Jacobsthal, Neudorf and Heidehäuser has the consequence that several railway lines are blocked and the population in the surrounding areas, including Wülknitz and Gröditz, had to be evacuated.

hundreds of firefighters and members of other organizations are in constant use. The Federal Police helicopter already dropped 63,000 liters of water on Thursday and will also be used for fire fighting on Friday. Despite the intensive extinguishing work, district fire chief Thomas Fischer warns of a possible flare -up foci, especially with refreshing wind.

difficult conditions and evacuations

The location remains tense because, according to the fire brigade, the fire area is estimated at around 1,000 hectares. Structures for communication and information from residents are also necessary, which is why a citizen phone has been set up. Residents also report inadequate communication on the part of the authorities, which is particularly critical in such crisis times.

The complexity of the situation is reinforced by the high ammunition burden in the region. The emergency services must keep the safety distance over a radius of 1,000 meters, which makes it significantly more difficult to extinguish the extinguishing work. Armored extinguishing vehicles that are urgently needed cannot be used in Germany - instead they have to be requested from other countries. The ministry has already promised further fire -fighting helicopters for the fourth quarter of 2023, which is a bright spot for further fire work.

help from the region and beyond the country

The municipality of Zeithain has informed its residents that there is currently no direct danger, and still recommends keeping windows and doors closed. More and more support comes from emergency services from the Ore Mountains that help with the extinguishing work. Measures to combat the flames have also been implemented in Brandenburg, including the beating of a swing into the forest, to stop the fire, as Freie Presse

The risk of forest fire has increased steadily in Germany in recent years, which is also due to the increasingly warm and dry summers. Data on forest fires have been collected since the 1970s and show that the protection of our forests is of growing importance. The federal states are currently working on measures to improve and control forest fires to minimize future impairments, such as "https://www.de/bzl/daten-berichte/wald/wald.html"> ble.de

The emergency services are in high pressure to control the fire and prevent further spreads. District Administrator Ralf Hänsel expects the extinguishing work to continue until at least at the beginning of next week. We keep the readers more than everything else: of course up to date.