While an exceptional heat wave affects part of Europe, the German authorities announced on Sunday that they had evacuated nearly 700 people near Berlin due to a fire extending over nearly 100 ha.
“Three districts” of the city of Treuenbrietzen, in the Brandenburg region surrounding the German capital, were affected by these evacuations, said a spokesman for the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark.
The fire, which broke out on Friday evening, ravages according to local media around a hundred hectares in this wooded and rural region, around the municipality of Treuenbrietzen, where nearly 8,000 inhabitants live.
“We ask all the inhabitants to leave their homes (…) this is NOT an exercise”, indicated the town hall of the city on Twitter aimed at the inhabitants of the district.
Emergency accommodation has been set up in the town hall building.
In 2018, the town had already experienced a fire which had destroyed 400 ha of forests.
“Rapid” evolution
The wind, which is particularly strong, accelerates the spread of the fire, and makes the work of the intervention forces difficult, according to the authorities.
The evolution of the fire is "rapid", they said on Saturday.
Several federal police and army helicopters are providing aerial support to the firefighters, drawing water from a lake near the area, according to images released by the Bundeswehr.
Die #Bundeswehr unterstützt im Rahmen der #Amtshilfe bei der Bekämpfung des schweren #Waldbrand|es bei #Treuenbrietzen.
Verteidigungsministerin Lambrecht dankt den eingesetzten Soldatinnen und Soldaten und allen Einsatzkräften.
#FuerEuchGemeinsamStark pic.twitter.com/uA8yJFkOl2
— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) June 19, 2022
This fire comes as part of Germany, and Europe, has been facing a heat episode of exceptional magnitude for several days.