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Schmilka in Saxony: A Czech military helicopter takes extinguishing water from the Elbe to extinguish a fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park
Photo: Robert Michael / dpa
Hundreds of firefighters are fighting the flames in the forest fire areas in southern Brandenburg and in the Saxon Switzerland National Park for the fourth day in a row.
There is no end in sight.
According to a spokesman for the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district office, eight fire-fighting helicopters are now in use
in
Saxony .
On Thursday morning, around 250 hectares of forest were on fire, which roughly corresponds to the area of the previous day.
It was unclear whether there would be another major fire in addition to the previous five fires.
Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) said: "The emergency services are fighting beyond the exhaustion limit." Such a situation had never existed before.
According to Schuster, the first of the three firefighting helicopters ordered will be ready in Saxony next year.
The fire broke out in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic over the weekend and spread to the Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday.
According to the fire brigade, around 1,000 hectares have already burned down on the Czech side.
"We stick to our positions, we didn't have to retreat anywhere," said a fire department spokesman for the CTK agency.
Nearly 500 firefighters are on duty battling the blazes in one of the largest wildfires in the country's history.
In Bad Schandau in Saxon Switzerland, a disaster alarm has been in effect since Tuesday.
Tourists should avoid the area.
In the district of Saxon Switzerland-Osterzgebirge, the forests may no longer be entered until further notice.
The state capital Dresden also tightened its rules for entering the forests.
A corresponding general decree is limited to September 30, 2022.
The situation in Brandenburg is apparently slightly relaxed
The authorities in
Brandenburg
did not yet want to speak of the all-clear, but the situation relaxed overnight.
According to the information, many embers with temperatures between 40 and 180 degrees are currently under observation.
They would have to be kept in check, the administrative staff said.
Around 320 workers from several parts of Brandenburg are busy with the extinguishing work.
To further contain the fire, a Bundeswehr armored personnel carrier arrived during the night, which created aisles in the area during the day.
Transport helicopters brought loads of water from the Kiebitzsee.
The forest fire in Brandenburg broke out on Monday and spread to around 800 hectares in a very short time.
On Thursday, the affected fire area should be re-measured.
The federal state has already been affected by forest and wildfires several times this year.
jpz/dpa
