Burning fields and dry forests keep people and fire brigades in suspense in many parts of Bavaria. Rain between sunny days only brings relaxation for a short time, as the German Weather Service (DWD) announced on Thursday. For parts of Central and Lower Franconia, the DWD continues to warn of the high risk of forest fires. “Although a front went through during the night, that doesn’t mean that it’s safe everywhere,” said a spokesman.
In the middle of the week, tens of thousands of square meters of forest and field burned again in Franconia, Swabia and the Upper Palatinate. After agricultural work, several harvested fields were on fire on Wednesday. In Püchersreuth (district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab), flying sparks in a straw baler probably caused a fire that spread over four hectares. In Wirsberg (Kulmbach district), around one hectare of stubble caught fire after a press and a straw bale also caught fire. In both cases, farmers tried to contain the fires. In the case of the fire in the Kulmbach district, for example, alluvial barrels were available, with which the farmer used to wash parts of the field with water.
On Thursday night, around 70 emergency services extinguished a field fire near Augsburg. A field fire near Regensburg was contained in good time before it spread to an adjacent high-voltage system. About 200 square meters of forest were on fire near Bamberg on Thursday. The cause of the fire is still unclear.
For the coming days, the DWD expects high temperatures again. Friday the sun shines all day in many parts of Bavaria. “We had a long period of very dry weather,” said a spokesman. “Even after a rain front, a lot dries off again on such a sunny day.” From Friday, the weather service warns of a high risk of forest fires for most of Franconia and Swabia, but northern Upper Bavaria and Lower Bavaria will also be affected.