Pirna (dpa/sn) – 215 forest fires were reported in Saxony last year. The Sachsenforst and the German Weather Service (DWD) announced on Tuesday that this was significantly more than in the rainy year 2021, when 33 fires were registered. There were a similar number of fires with 200 in the dry year 2018. This Wednesday (March 1st) the forest fire season starts again in Saxony: Sachsenforst and DWD will then provide up-to-date information on the local forest fire danger until October.
Most of the forest fires were recorded in 2022 from May to August. During these months there were 177 fires in the Saxon forests. These included the two major fires in Gohrischheide and in Saxon Switzerland. A total of 780 hectares were damaged – 670 hectares of them in the state forest, 100 hectares by private owners and around 10 hectares in the so-called corporate forest, for example by municipalities. The damage caused by the forest fires is estimated at around three million euros.
Forest Minister Wolfram Günther emphasized that the vast majority of forest fires are caused by people. Only 3 of the 215 fires recorded had a natural cause – namely lightning. In contrast, 154 fires were caused negligently or intentionally by people, and the cause of the fire remained unknown in 58 cases. Many fires could be prevented by following simple rules of conduct, according to the Green politician.
At the beginning of the forest fire season, Sachsenforst and DWD assessed the situation as “still uncritical”. The soils are normal or even a little too damp. However, dry high-pressure weather is imminent in the next few days, so it can be assumed that the risk of forest fires will increase locally at the beginning of March.
