Because of a burning grain field, several houses in the Upper Franconian municipality of Michelau have to be evacuated, and the district administrator has meanwhile declared a disaster. The situation is now under control again.
Because of a burning grain field, a disaster was declared in the Upper Franconian district of Lichtenfels on Thursday afternoon. The evacuation of houses began briefly in a part of the municipality of Michelau. In an initial report, the emergency services reported a “wall of fire” about 700 meters wide. In order to be able to extinguish with as many emergency services as possible from the neighboring counties, the Lichtenfels district administrator Christian Meißner (CSU) declared the disaster. About a hundred meters from the municipality of Michelau, the fire brigade was able to bring the flames under control in the late afternoon, and the disaster alarm was lifted again at 5 p.m. after around three hours. The residents were able to return to their homes.
According to district administrator Christian Meißner (CSU), up to 400 emergency services – fire brigade, police, technical relief organization, rescue service – were busy with extinguishing and evacuation work on the burning field. They were assisted by a helicopter. Local residents have been asked to avoid the area, lock windows and doors, and listen for loudspeaker announcements.
Embers still have to be observed, but the fire has largely been extinguished. “The collaboration worked great,” said Meißner, “very impressive.” The police headquarters in Upper Franconia also gave the all-clear in the afternoon: “The emergency services are in control of the situation,” said a spokesman. According to Meißner, the evacuations were then stopped. According to him, the defect of an agricultural vehicle was the cause of the fire.