Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Forest fires in Lübtheen and Hagenow under control
Employees from the Technical Relief Agency (THW) are on duty in the Lübtheen forest fire. photo
© Steven Hutchings/TNN/dpa
The situation in the forest fire areas in south-west Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is improving. However, it is still unclear whether the disaster alert for a former military training area can be lifted.
The emergency services have largely brought the two forest fires that broke out near Lübtheen and Hagenow on Monday under control. Today a decision is to be made as to whether the disaster alarm for the former military training area near Lübtheen will be lifted. This was announced by a spokesman for the Ludwigslust-Parchim district last night. The forest area in the Viezer Heide near Hagenow has already been handed over to the local military commander for further firefighting.
It will probably take a while until the two large forest fires on the former military training area near Lübtheen and in the Viezer Heide near Hagenow have completely subsided. The situation currently appears to be under control. However, because it is not possible to extinguish the fire directly in the munitions-contaminated areas, you should wait until all the fires have burned out by themselves. How long this takes is unclear. Until then, the forest must be monitored further.
District Administrator Stefan Sternberg (SPD) gave the all-clear for the time being yesterday and said that there were hardly any open flames in the two fire areas. However, there is still an absolute ban on entry. At noon, the 160 residents of the evacuated town of Volzerade were able to return to their homes. According to the district spokesman, 270 people were still deployed in Lübtheen last night. Overnight, however, fewer helpers would be needed to keep the irrigation systems running. The edges of the forest will continue to be watered to prevent the flames from spreading to other areas caused by sparks.