Fire brigade warns: Forest owners have to secure extinguishing water supply!

Fire brigade warns: Forest owners have to secure extinguishing water supply!

forest fires are also an increasingly serious threat in Thuringia. Today, the view of the current challenges that forest owners and fire brigade have to master during fire fighting. It becomes clear that a better water supply in the forests is required, especially after the devastating fires on the Saalfeld height.

According to the Thuringian Fire Brigade Association, private forest owners are responsible for ensuring adequate extinguishing water supply and the prevention of forest fires. This problem is still acute, since only two private forest owners have applied for funding, whereas 14 measures for forest fire prevention worth 1.43 million euros have been funded by the responsible bodies since 2021. The President of the Association of Thuringian Forest owners, Matthias Pfannstiel, points out that the financial burdens for forest owners are too high despite these funding. After all, the average forest owner in Thuringia has only 0.85 hectares of forest area, which makes a comprehensive fire protection obligation difficult.

prevention measures and challenges

But what is done specifically to minimize the risk of forest fire? Thuringia Forst has invested in state forests in the improvement of the network of paths and the repair of 40 extinguishing water ponds. In addition, extinguishing water is taken from dams and other waters if this is technically possible. There are 130 traffic jams in Thuringia that can be used for the delivery of extinguishing water so that in critical situations can be reacted quickly. The forest firing offices update the forest fire protection cards that contain information about accessible paths and water points.

On March 1st, the forest fire monitoring season begins, which will last until the end of October. This season includes daily security checks of the forest fire threats in five different danger levels. Thuringia Forst works closely with the German Weather Service to ensure precise predictions.

The role of climate change

It is no secret that climate change tightens the weather conditions and thus further increases the risk of forest fires. In 2022 there were 2,397 fires in Germany that destroyed around 3,058 hectares of forest area - an area that corresponds to the size of the East Frisian island of Borkum. This was the year with the second largest burned area since the beginning of the survey in 1977. Over 90 percent of these fires occurred between June and August, which underlines the urgency to react to the changing environmental conditions and take appropriate countermeasures.

The main cause of these fires remains the careless behavior of visitors in the forest. Arson and negligent barbecues are common reasons for the dangerous fire. It is important that the municipalities inform the public about the correct behavior in forest areas and at the same time strengthen the request for cooperation between the fire brigade and forest owners. A higher -level fire protection concept that includes all relevant actors is necessary to react effectively to the growing danger situation. Interior Minister Georg Maier has already demanded the deployment of a civil helicopter in East Germany to support fire fighting.

The forest fire hazard card can be viewed at www.thueringenforst.de . Proactive action can help to preserve the beauty and health of the Thuringian forests and at the same time ensure the safety of the population.