Two huge forest fires – less than 20 kilometers apart – keep residents and firefighters in Brandenburg in suspense. Now they hope above all for the help of the rain.
Smoke rises around church towers in Beelitz, southwest of Berlin. Forest fires have been raging in the region for days.
(dpa)
In the fight against two large forest fires in Brandenburg, residents and emergency services hope that rain and thunderstorms on Monday will reduce the acute danger. Only about 20 kilometers apart, two large forest areas near Treuenbrietzen and Beelitz (both in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district) burned at the weekend. The clouds of smoke were so dense that, according to the fire brigade, the smell of fire could even be heard in Dresden, a good 100 kilometers further south.
According to the district, the situation in the forest fire near Treuenbrietzen, which is about 80 kilometers southwest of Berlin and 40 kilometers from Potsdam, was stable late Sunday evening. On Monday night, 435 emergency services were on site. “In the morning we hope for the promised rain,” said spokeswoman Andrea Metzler on Sunday evening of the German Press Agency.
The situation in Beelitz, where another forest fire broke out, is more complicated, Metzler said. There, according to Mayor Bernhard Knuth (independent), the fire had spread to 200 hectares by early evening, i.e. about the area of 280 football pitches – the same size as in Treuenbrietzen. Some streets were evacuated, residents of other streets asked to prepare for a possible evacuation.
A local resident told RBB that the fire was only about 500 meters from his family’s home. “We hope it doesn’t come, but we are ready,” he told the broadcaster. The emergency services are in the process of felling trees and creating firebreaks to stop the flames from advancing. The whole neighborhood helps too. “We’re just trying to save everything that’s possible,” said the man.
Mayor Knuth said: “We hope that the spread will stop and that we can ultimately successfully fight the fire.” He later added that the forest fire was under control. In the coming hours, however, strong gusts of wind must be expected, which could fan the fire. “Then we hope for the expected rain,” said Knuth.
In fact, the first drops fell early Monday morning, but did not bring the hoped-for effect. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), there were initially only isolated showers and smaller thunderstorms that did not bring much rain. A spokesman said there would only be widespread precipitation in the course of the morning, which should ease the situation.
The town of Beelitz has around 13,000 inhabitants and is known for growing asparagus. The State Horticultural Show is currently taking place there. This will be closed this Monday. This was announced by Managing Director Marina Ringel of the German Press Agency on Sunday evening. One of the reasons she gave was that the main parking lot of the State Horticultural Show is currently being used for the emergency vehicles.
Danger of explosion from hidden ammunition
In Treuenbrietzen, the fire brigade and the Bundeswehr have been fighting a fire since Friday, which was spread by winds from different directions. The fire that broke out in a piece of pine forest was contained from 60 to 40 hectares by Saturday. But on the night of Sunday there was talk of around 100 hectares of fire area, on Sunday it was already 200 hectares. In 2018 there was a forest fire on 400 hectares in the same area.
The fight against the flames is particularly difficult in the area: Because ammunition and explosive devices lie in the ground of a former blasting and training area, the firefighters cannot get close to the fire. The fire can detonate ammunition hidden in the ground. During dozens of flights, Bundeswehr helicopters therefore picked up tens of thousands of liters of water from a nearby quarry pond and extinguished it from above.
According to Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD), around 1,400 emergency services were deployed on Sunday. Mostly they are helpers from the volunteer fire brigades from Brandenburg, but also from Saxony-Anhalt. In addition, help from Berlin was expected. According to Woidke, there were also Bundeswehr soldiers and forces from the technical relief organization and other rescue organizations.