Clouds of smoke rise from a forest near Essel
Photo:Flight service Lower Saxony / Lüneburg district / dpa
According to initial findings, a spark in a truck had triggered a forest fire on Autobahn 7 near Essel in Lower Saxony on Wednesday evening.
Traffic came to a complete standstill, and many truckers and motorists had to spend the night on the motorway. According to a police spokeswoman, the lane in the direction of Hanover should be closed until Thursday afternoon.
Due to the spark, the embankment caught fire for several hundred meters. Strong wind drove the flames into the drought-damaged forest. According to the fire brigade, a total of 28 hectares was on fire. A large number of the fire brigade was in action.
Weekend residential area was evacuated
In the meantime, a weekend residential area has been evacuated on instructions from the authorities. 35 residents who were housed elsewhere were affected. Nobody got hurt.
The fire was under control on Thursday morning. Nevertheless, smaller nests of embers flared up again and again. According to the fire brigade, around 500 emergency services were temporarily working in the forest area. Farmers supported the emergency services by providing liquid manure tanks filled with water.
Icon: The mirrorkha / dpa