Schwerin (dpa / mv) – According to Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus (SPD), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is prepared for forest fires as a result of long dry periods. To support the emergency services, the state’s forest authority has presented an updated map of forest fires, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Friday in Schwerin. The map contains information about infrastructure, extraction points for fire-fighting water, forest data and rescue points. The cards were presented to members of the fire and disaster control departments during training courses before the forest fire season began.
According to the ministry, an increased risk of fire is to be expected from the beginning of March. As a result of climate change, there has often been no precipitation in recent years, so that there have been unusually long dry periods as early as spring and an increased risk of forest fires. Good knowledge of the local conditions and a coordinated approach are important for effective firefighting.
“A faster intervention represents an immediate improvement that can prevent the further spread of a forest fire,” Backhaus emphasized the importance of the new forest fire operation map. According to him, not all federal states have such special maps, but are increasingly orienting themselves towards the example of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
After the devastating forest fire near Lübtheen (Ludwigslust-Parchim district), in which almost 1000 hectares of forest were on fire in the summer of 2019 and several towns were threatened by fire, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had also technically upgraded: the state ordered new fire engines for many millions of euros for village fire brigades and also fire engines especially for large forest fires.