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Saxon Switzerland: firefighting helicopters in use
Photo: Sebastian Kahnert / dpa
A good week after a forest fire broke out in southern Brandenburg, the fire has been extinguished.
This was announced by the deputy fire chief of the Liebenwerda association, Martin Neumann, on Tuesday.
The large extinguishing measures in the Kölsa-Rehfeld area in the Elbe-Elster district on the border with Saxony have ended.
The challenge now is to hand over the areas affected by the fire to the more than 60 owners, said Neumann.
Therefore, the community association will take over the fire watch until Wednesday.
According to the information, a central event is then planned for the forest owners, at which the forest areas will be handed over to them.
You then also take over the fire watch.
The fire broke out last Monday and quickly spread to more than 800 hectares - an area about four times the size of Monaco.
Bundeswehr, police, THW and firefighters from numerous districts in Brandenburg fought against the flames.
They were supported by emergency services from four federal states.
The emergency services are concerned about the weather forecast for the coming days.
The German Weather Service has announced highs of between 32 and 34 degrees and severe heat stress for Wednesday.
On Thursday it should be up to 37 degrees hot.
According to the deputy forest fire protection officer Philipp Haase, the highest forest fire risk level five will apply to some districts in Brandenburg on Wednesday, and then to almost all districts on Thursday.
»We need rain to relax«
With the forest fire in Saxon Switzerland, the situation has not eased in the second week.
The fire breaks out again and again, said the spokesman for the district office of the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains, Thomas Kunz.
With rising temperatures and drought, the formation of flames also increases.
"We need rain to ease the situation," he said.
The firefighters continue to fight the embers and the fire that is crawling in the ground.
Occasionally, columns of smoke rose from the ground or open flames erupted, according to Kunz.
In the wind, the embers can also spread quickly.
To prevent this, barriers will continue to be erected in the ground between Winterberg and Zschand.
According to the information, 300 firefighters were on duty on Tuesday morning, and around 550 are expected during the day.
The focus of the work is therefore on the Grenzweg to the Black Gorges, on the Richter Gorges and the Bärenfangmauern.
In the northern area of the Kirnitzsch valley, water cannons from the police in Saxony and Bavaria were also used.
They spread water on the shoulders of the paths so that the embers would spread less.
The fire broke out in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic a week ago and then spread to the Saxon Switzerland National Park.
According to the authorities, the forest fire in Bohemian Switzerland is under control.
wit/dpa