Forest fires in Brandenburg: emergency services hope for rain and thunderstorms

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Emergency services fired at Beelitz to prevent the forest fire from spreading further

Photo: Cevin Dettlaff / 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 hundred kilometers further south.

The situation in the forest fire near

, which is about 80 kilometers southwest of Berlin and 40 kilometers from Potsdam, was stable according to the district as of 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.

The situation in

, 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, and residents of other streets were asked to prepare for a possible evacuation (the city publishes current information on its website).

“We hope it doesn’t come, but we are ready”

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're 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 whatever we can," said the man.

Mayor Knuth later said the forest fire was under control.

In the coming hours, however, strong gusts of wind must be expected, which could fan the fire.

"Then let's hope for the expected rain."

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 provide relief.

The town of Beelitz has around 13,000 inhabitants and is known for growing asparagus.

The State Horticultural Show is currently taking place there.

It will be closed this Monday.

One of the reasons given by Managing Director Marina Ringel was that the main parking lot of the State Horticultural Show is currently being used for emergency vehicles.

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 Sunday night there was talk of around one hundred hectares of fire area, on Sunday it was already 200 hectares.

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.

Bundeswehr helicopters therefore took tens of thousands of liters of water from a nearby lake during dozens of flights and extinguished it from above.

aar/dpa