Forest fire on Saalfelder Höhe: dramatic operations under control!

Forest fire on Saalfelder Höhe: dramatic operations under control!

A dramatic forest fire on the Saalfelder Höhe in Thuringia has attracted the attention of the disaster control forces in the region. A disaster was declared on July 3, 2025 when a vegetation fire broke out near Gösselsdorf. After the situation quickly got out of control, the disaster control units of the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district were requested to support the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district, as Rhoen Kanal reports.

In total, the fire burned over an area of ​​almost 300 hectares, making it the largest forest fire in Thuringia in at least three decades. The emergency services, which came from various fire departments and DRK district associations, worked under difficult conditions characterized by the terrain and changing weather conditions. However, on Monday morning, July 6th, the fire was brought under control and the disaster was immediately lifted.

Extensive support

The Schmalkalden-Meiningen district sent various specialized emergency trains: from the water emergency train to the care train, which took care of the supply and accommodation of the emergency services. More than 250 firefighters and volunteers were deployed and worked over 60,000 hours, as the NDR team with Florian Schlüter emphasizes: “It is important that water is injected deep into the ground to smother embers.” (NDR).

Firefighting helicopters were also used in the first few days of the operation, but they no longer carried out any flights after production stopped on Sunday. Surrounding weather conditions played a role, however there was some relief from rain in the forecast for Monday and Tuesday. Nevertheless, the disaster continued to be active in the region to ensure safety-oriented measures.

Forest protection and awareness

The importance of the forest and forest protection is constantly growing - this can also be seen in the reports on water and fire-fighting measures in Thuringia. The federal administration has been aggregating wildfire data since the 1970s to make forecasts and precautions to prevent fires. Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food points out that the protection and preservation of forests is playing an increasing role in preventing forest fires and minimizing the areas lost due to such fires.

The experience from this large-scale fire will be incorporated into the follow-up to corresponding operations and will shape future exercises. The incident on July 3rd demonstrated once again how important a well-coordinated response is in such critical situations - this is the only way to protect nature and ultimately the lives of the people in the affected regions.