Brandenburg
Forest fire near Jüterbog is increasing
During the night, the flames slowly eat their way forward in a forest fire in an ammunition-loaded area near Jüterbog. photo
© Cevin Dettlaff/dpa
The forest fire on a former military training area is difficult to fight. And there is no rain in sight.
The forest fire that broke out near Jüterbog in Brandenburg on Wednesday evening is expanding according to the fire brigade operations management. “The fire is just getting bigger,” said operations manager Rico Walentin on Saturday morning. Winds that picked up in the morning worsened the situation. For the fire brigade, the extinguishing operation is made more difficult because of the ammunition-loaded terrain.
The two firefighting planes, which repeatedly dropped water on the burning area on Friday, were no longer in use on Saturday. “We no longer had the desired effect with fire-fighting aircraft, it wasn’t massive enough,” said Walentin. More planes would have been needed, he emphasized.
The fire department is now deployed with ten fire engines. It should be extinguished from the side of the road so that “the fire doesn’t run into the next forest,” said Walentin. The area of the former military training area is very large. According to the Teltow-Fläming district on Friday, a total of around 35 hectares were affected by the fire.
“We have to see if the wind plays into our hands,” said Walentin on Saturday, hoping for calm and, above all, rain. However, according to the weather forecast for the weekend, precipitation is not in sight. “One is frustrated,” said the operations manager in view of the difficult operation. The fire brigade cannot get to the fire sites because of the risk of explosion on the site with old ammunition in the ground.