After a phase of relaxation, an expert believes that the risk of forest fires in Brandenburg will worsen again at the beginning of the week. There will only be a short respite, said the deputy forest fire protection officer, Philipp Haase.
According to forest fire expert Haase, there had already been 241 fires this year by the end of July. A total area of 539 hectares is affected.
Brandenburg is considered a forest fire “hotspot” nationwide due to extensive pine forests, low rainfall and light sandy soils. 2022 was an extreme year with 523 fires and an affected area of 1,426 hectares.
High flames could be seen in Jüterbog on Thursday. It was blazing hot that day. The city also showed on Instagram how the black smoke was rising.
The extent of the forest fire in Jüterbog in southwest Brandenburg has so far covered an area of around 308 hectares, as Haase said. Special technology is also in use there – including an armored fire-fighting robot.
Because on the former military training area, the fire brigade cannot get directly to the sources of the fire because of the ammunition in the ground. The fire was contained during the night.
Tension in Neuruppin in the evening
The fire brigades also had to be deployed several times in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district due to field fires. In a southern district of Neuruppin, several houses were briefly evacuated.
Forest fire protection expert Haase explained that due to a change in the weather and strong winds, the fires could have spread quickly on Thursday. In the evening the all-clear was given in Neuruppin. The district administrator of Ostprignitz-Ruppin, Ralf Reinhardt (SPD), told the dpa that the fire was stopped around 20 meters away from a residential area.
The risk of forest fires increases again at the beginning of the week
The risk of forest fires is expected to rise again at the start of the new week. Haase expects Brandenburg to reach intermediate levels 3 and 4. There are a total of five forest band danger levels that are calculated daily.
Fires again and again in Jüterbog
This year there were several fires, especially on the former military site in Jüterbog. There are special protective corridors in the area without much vegetation that are intended to contain the spread of the fire. In May, for example, around 150 hectares were affected near Jüterbog, according to forest fire protection officer Raimund Engel.
Meanwhile, devastating fires are raging in southern Europe. A fire area of 42,000 hectares was affected on the French Atlantic coast. Around 224,000 people had to be evacuated.