Brandenburg
Forest fire and embers under control
The fire brigade extinguishes embers after forest fires. Photo: Cevin Dettlaff/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Danger averted: Due to the great drought, a number of trees in eastern Germany have caught fire in the past few days. In the meantime, the forests have been cleared, as have embers.
The forest fire near Rheinsberg in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district seems to be under control. The fire brigade announced early Friday morning that the situation had eased significantly around midnight.
A few hours later, a spokeswoman for the fire department said the fire had been extinguished and the emergency services would be withdrawn. However, a fire watch was set up on site in case a fire hazard should develop again.
The nests of embers hidden in the forest floor near Beelitz (Potsdam-Mittelmark district) had flared up again in the meantime. The fire brigade was therefore moved out again shortly before one o’clock in the morning, it was said. Individual places distributed over the forest area were affected. However, the fires were extinguished during the night, as the mayor of Beelitz Bernhard Knuth (independent) announced on Friday morning. It is therefore a “relaxed situation, but it requires some attention,” said Knuth.
In Brandenburg, another forest fire broke out in Rheinsberg on Thursday. According to the first information from the fire brigade, around five hectares of forest were on fire. The police spoke of two to three hectares. In Beelitz, individual embers flared up again during the course of the day.
Last weekend, two forest fires in Treuenbrietzen and Beelitz (Potsdam-Mittelmark district) south of Berlin posed a great danger. Hundreds of firefighters, supported by Bundeswehr soldiers, were deployed. About 200 hectares were in flames at a time. Firefighters continue to monitor developments on site.