Brandenburg
Forest fire in Jüterbog has spread rapidly
The forest near Jüterbog is on fire. photo
© Michael Bahlo/dpa
Flames have been blazing in a forest area near Jüterbog in Brandenburg for days. But the fire brigade’s firefighting operation is difficult because of the ammunition load.
The forest fire near Jüterbog, which has been blazing since Wednesday, spread strongly on Saturday. An area of over 150 hectares is now affected, said a city spokeswoman on Saturday evening. In the morning it was said that there was a fire on a total of 45 hectares.
The city spokeswoman said: “We do not expect a quick end.” The fire brigade cannot get to the fire in the forest because the danger from the ammunition lying in the ground is too great. Large plumes of smoke could be seen over the forest fire area.
The area affected by the forest fire is part of a large area owned by the Brandenburg Natural Landscape Foundation. It secures former military training areas for nature conservation.
The managing director of the Foundation for Natural Landscapes, Andreas Meißner, said that the “heart” of the wilderness area was affected. From a nature conservation point of view, it is very unfortunate that the areas would burn again.
There have already been fires in the area in 2018 and 2019. The forest fire protection system, for example with fire-retardant protective strips, has been well expanded there, said Meißner. There are wells every two kilometers, so that the fire brigade has short ways to get water.