Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – After the sometimes heavy rainfall of the past few days, the risk of forest fires in Hesse has eased somewhat. The Ministry of the Environment announced on Thursday in Wiesbaden that the forest fire alert level A could be overridden. The second highest warning level had been in effect since mid-July. In Hesse, A means high risk, B very high risk.
“Above all, the nationwide and mostly heavy rainfall in connection with a slight drop in temperature lead to a noticeable decrease in the acute risk of forest fires in large parts of Hesse,” explained the ministry. It is also not foreseeable for the next few days that the situation will become more serious again.
Even if there is currently no longer an alarm level, the population is still asked to be careful. “Dried vegetation and leaves pose a potential hazard despite the first rains,” the ministry warned. It may still be necessary to close individual barbecue areas. According to the information, there have been at least 260 fires in Hesse’s forests since the beginning of the year, affecting more than 130 hectares.
