Forest fire early detection from above: Lower Saxony uses aircraft

Created: 07/20/2022, 22:33

By: Thomas Copytz

Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt use aircraft for early detection of forest fires.

Experienced experts use it to observe risk areas from the air.

Hildesheim – Anyone who has ever been to Sardinia or Corsica in midsummer knows them: the observation aircraft of the fire brigades.

Recognize quickly and quickly order the fire-fighting aircraft, which take up water at low altitude over the sea and release it by the ton over fires and embers, as reported by hna.de.

In Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, too, observers are now peeping out of planes again, wanting to prevent the outbreak of large fires and quickly trigger extinguishing operations.

For the early detection of forest fires, the two federal states rely on the use of two small aircraft and experienced experts.

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Start: A Cessna 206 from the Lower Saxony fire brigade flight service takes off in Lüneburg for a surveillance flight.

© Philipp Schulze/dpa

The Cessna-type machines with a pilot, an observer and a forester on board are flying their routes in some areas of the federal states this week to look out for smoke, says Thomas Friedhoff, officer for the Lower Saxony fire brigade flight service.

"We are at a critical point," he said.

The "grassland fire index" rises nationwide to level 4 of 5, the ground is dry.

In the Harz, the situation is sometimes extreme.

Forest fire early detection: Two Cessna aircraft take off from Hildesheim

The planes have been taking off from Lüneburg and Hildesheim since this week, as Thomas Friedhoff says.

Depending on the weather and forest fire level, they then fly five different routes and can also inspect specific areas.

The earlier a fire is found, the easier it is to put it out and the less damage there is to the environment.

By October at the latest, fire surveillance via aircraft should be stopped again.

Forest fire searchers: (from left) Frederic Schirmer (Forest Consultant), Andreas Bode, flight observer for the fire brigade and pilot Michael Schwan, discuss before take-off.

In order to detect fires at an early stage, two Cessna aircraft are once again making their rounds over Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.

© Philipp Schulze/dpa

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Because of the risk of fire, the fire brigades are asking hikers and cyclists in particular who are in the forest and in the great outdoors to pay more attention and be particularly careful.

There is an increasing risk of forest and vegetation fires.

Due to the dry years and the bark beetle infestation, there is a lot of dry dead wood in the coniferous forests in Lower Saxony, especially in the Harz Mountains, i.e. also in Saxony-Anhalt.

Birches and beeches have also dried up.

Result: high risk of forest fires.

Risk areas in Lower Saxony: many fires near Goslar

In the past few days and weeks there have been 46 forest and vegetation fires in the Goslar district alone, the district said.

Forest paths should not be blocked with parked vehicles.

Open fires and campfires are strictly forbidden, as is smoking in the forest.

If a fire is discovered, the fire brigade must be informed immediately by dialing 112.

It is said that it is better to only carry out your own extinguishing attempts if you do not put yourself in danger.

Hikers who spot a fire should move away from the fire immediately only on the forest trails.

If the fire gets out of control, there is hardly any chance of escaping.

Agricultural machines are often the cause of wildfires

Sparks from overheated harvesters are a common cause of wildfires.

The Ministry of Agriculture in Hanover is now asking farmers to be particularly careful during the peak phase of the grain harvest.

The best fire protection is a well-maintained machine.

You should also have a hand fire extinguisher on hand.

The district of Cuxhaven urges day-trippers to park their cars only in the designated parking spaces and not to block access roads in the woods, so that fire and rescue vehicles can travel freely.

The very hot catalytic converters of parked cars can also cause a fire on dry forest soil and meadows.

(tko, with dpa material)

The fire brigade also uses helicopters again and again for operations and is also supported by the police.

In mid-May 2022, a helicopter was also used in a serious accident on the A38.