Beelitz clears the first streets
Forest fires in Brandenburg are spreading – evacuations ordered
06/19/2022, 7:35 p.m
Several forests are burning in front of the southern gates of Berlin as a result of the drought and repeatedly fanned by winds. The authorities order the evacuation of several small towns. The fire brigade, police and army are fighting the flames.
In Brandenburg, hundreds of emergency services are fighting against forest fires that are spreading. Affected are areas around Treuenbrietzen and Beelitz-Heilstätten in the district of Potsdam Mittelmark south of Berlin. The small town of Treuenbrietzen has already evacuated several districts. A hospital has imposed a visitor ban and is preparing for an evacuation. Beelitz, where the state garden show is currently taking place, also reported the evacuation of the first streets in the evening. In addition, residents of other streets were asked to prepare for a possible evacuation.
The fire broke out in the afternoon. Treetops caught fire at Beelitz-Heilstätten, said the spokeswoman for the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, Andrea Metzler. According to Mayor Bernhard Knuth, a crisis management team was set up in the town hall and lists of residents were compiled. All events at the State Garden Show have been cancelled. “We hope that it will rain in the evening as announced,” said Knuth.
The small town of Treuenbrietzen – around 20 kilometers south of Beelitz – had asked the residents of Tiefenbrunnen, Frohnsdorf and Klausdorf a few hours apart in the afternoon to “leave their houses in an orderly manner and immediately. Emergency accommodation is the town hall of Treuenbrietzen!” The city administration also says: “This is NOT an exercise!”. The forest fire that broke out on Friday is spreading due to the great drought and repeatedly fanned by strong winds.
Areas contaminated with ammunition
The city administration set up an emergency and information telephone (+49 33748 747 50). The emergency had been declared the day before. With a view to the Frohnsdorf district, Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke spoke of a much more dramatic situation than in 2018. “We have to expect the situation to get worse,” he said. 600 people have already had to leave their homes in the past few hours. “There may be more evacuations,” he said. During the devastating forest fire in 2018, 400 hectares of forest in Treuenbrietzen burned for days.
“We currently have 1,400 emergency services deployed,” said the SPD politician. Mostly they are comrades from the volunteer fire brigades from Brandenburg, but from Saxony-Anhalt. In addition, help from Berlin is expected. According to Woidke, there are also Bundeswehr soldiers and forces from the technical relief organization and other rescue organizations.
In the early afternoon it had Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior informed that the Bundeswehr had promised the immediate use of three more helicopters. This means that four Luftwaffe helicopters will then be deployed. The police also help with a water cannon. According to its own statements, the country has now ramped up its crisis management team “to full operation”.
The emergency services are particularly worried about the weather report. In Brandenburg will be in the afternoon Highs of up to 38 degrees, but gusts of wind are also expected. The situation is further complicated by the fact that many areas in the region are contaminated with old ammunition. This only allows movements of the approximately 400 emergency services on certain routes. According to the RBB, detonation noises could already be heard on Friday.
After the forest fire broke out on Friday, it initially blazed in an area of about 60 hectares. On Saturday, it temporarily decreased to a good 40 hectares before it grew again. Four years ago there was a major forest fire in the area: around 400 hectares of forest were destroyed and more than 500 people had to leave their homes.