The extreme drought continues to affect eastern Germany. Hundreds of firefighters are fighting forest fires in Saxony and Brandenburg. Especially in the Saxon Switzerland National Park, new embers flare up again and again.
Two large forest fires in eastern Germany posed a major challenge for hundreds of firefighters. In Saxony, the situation was “very, very tense,” as a spokeswoman for the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district office said. In the affected area in the Saxon Switzerland National Park, small fires could be extinguished, but new sources of fire appeared at the same time.
According to the spokeswoman, the area should be monitored from the air and from the ground throughout the day. New emergency services also arrived in the morning. The district also warned people with chronic respiratory diseases of “increased exposure of the respiratory tract to smoke exposure caused by weather and fire”. Physical exertion outdoors should be avoided as far as possible, it said.
A total of over 300 firefighters were deployed, supported by water cannons from the state police and several helicopters from the Bundeswehr and police. A section of the Elbe was therefore closed on Thursday for water extraction. In addition, the setting off of fireworks was banned.
The fire broke out on Sunday morning in the Czech National Park Bohemian Switzerland and then spread to German territory. According to the authorities, the situation relaxed first in the middle of the week. However, due to the shifting wind, the fire then spread again.
In Brandenburg, however, the major fire near Stand Falkenberg was under control, according to the authorities. The current challenge is to track down and fight embers in good time, said the Elbe-Elster district. This is to prevent open fires from arising again. This happened several times on Thursday – embers had flared up again.
On the ground, two armored personnel carriers from the Bundeswehr are now helping to build aisles and roads. According to the district, the second vehicle arrived during the night. A whole series of wide paths were created in the fire area. On these, the firefighters could easily get to possible fire sites through the rough terrain, it said. A special company also began to burn off vegetation along the federal highway 183. This should prevent the fire from spreading to the other side of the street. A total of around 250 forces were still in action.
They were supported by six Bundeswehr helicopters, which started the extinguishing operation in the morning. Police water cannons and a firefighting tank from Saxony were also used to help fight the fire in the ammunition-loaded area.
The authorities had declared a major damage situation on Monday afternoon. The fire, which broke out for an initially unknown reason in a forest area with wind turbines, spread quickly – driven by violent gusts of wind. A pig fattening facility also burned down. Several towns have since been evacuated.
