Forest fire chaos in northern Saxony: Fire brigade in action with vintage cars!

Forest fire chaos in northern Saxony: Fire brigade in action with vintage cars!

Flames are currently raging in northern Saxony and the firefighters have their hands full. Hundreds of emergency services are fighting a forest fire that is raging across a total area of ​​20 hectares. The cause of the fire was quickly found: A spark from a combine harvester during harvesting work on Sunday afternoon ignited the fire, which quickly spread from a field near Doberschütz-Bunitz into the adjacent forest. This scenario is attracting national attention, reports Day24.

On Saturday, the “Forest Fire” disaster relief fire brigade was sent to Gohrischheide, and the flames have been a constant companion ever since. They are supported by more than a dozen fire departments from surrounding towns. Since then, an impressive contingent of over 250 emergency services and 76 vehicles, including historic vehicles such as a 60-year-old Unimog and a W50 from 1976, have been in action.

Water supply and wind make extinguishing work difficult

The water supply is extremely problematic. A shuttle service of tank fire engines is always necessary to supply the firefighters with the water they need to survive. In addition, constant gusts of wind make the operation dangerous and unpredictable.

In another region in northern Saxony, more precisely on the state border between Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, there was another forest fire that was reported on Monday around 3:45 p.m. Here, around four hectares of forest and one hectare of field were in flames. Here too, around 80 emergency services were on site and the fire is now under control. Nevertheless, the significant smoke development led to visibility restrictions on the A9 motorway, which further complicated the entire situation MDR reported.

Climate change favors forest fires

The causes for the current increase in forest fires are diverse, but climate change plays a decisive role. As dry and hot periods increase, the risk of such fires increases. Unfortunately, Germany is no longer an exceptional case, which is reflected in the drastic increase in affected areas in recent years. Loud Statista, over 1,200 hectares of forest were destroyed in Germany in 2023. Previous years had an even higher affected area, with most fires being caused by human error.

The firefighting work in northern Saxony will continue until Monday evening, and fire guards should remain on site until Tuesday to prevent further spread. The approaches to fighting the fire and the coordination of emergency services show how important international experience and technical resources are, especially in times of climate change, where such events can become increasingly common.