fires
Forest fire near Jüterbog: situation a little more relaxed
Bundeswehr and federal police helicopters fly over the Forst Zinna forest fire area near Jüterbog and extinguish it from the air. photo
© Christian Pörschmann/dpa
The fire hasn’t gone out yet. But the rain that fell on Saturday evening helped the fire brigade a little with the extinguishing work. How are things going now?
Wooded areas near Jüterbog south of Berlin continued to burn on Sunday. However, the situation on Sunday morning was a little more relaxed, said Silvio Kahle, a spokesman for the operations center. Accordingly, the rain that fell on Saturday evening helped fight the fire, especially in the northern area.
“The weather and the extinguishing measures had an effect,” said the spokesman. On Sunday, two helicopters are again to support the extinguishing work from the air. According to the information, the entire affected area currently covers around 733 hectares. According to the operations management, there is no danger to surrounding towns.
On Saturday, emergency services continued to try to limit the fire on the ammunition-loaded former military training area. Extinguishing efforts were also continued from the air. The Bundeswehr has been supporting the firefighters on the ground with two helicopters since midday. A police helicopter was also used. According to the federal police, around 86,000 liters of fire-fighting water were dropped on 48 approaches on Saturday. Since the beginning of June, around 448,000 liters of water have been used on 249 approaches to provide on-site support.
There has been a fire in the munitions-loaded area since May 31. The fire brigade cannot get to the source of the fire directly because of the risk of explosion on the former military training area. Villages are not in danger. Strong winds fueled the forest fire again on Wednesday. On Friday, when the major damage situation was announced, the district took over the management of the operation.