Two forests caught fire in Lower Franconia on Wednesday. Around 4,000 square meters were affected in Heimbuchenthal in the Aschaffenburg district, and around 250 in Eschau in the Miltenberg district.
In Eschau, the flames were quickly under control, but the forces initially stayed at the scene of the fire to extinguish any embers. The criminal police are checking whether there is a connection between the two fires in the Spessart. Eschau and Heimbuchenthal are close together. According to the German Weather Service, the risk of forest fires in the region was level 4 out of 5 on Wednesday. Large areas of forest on the Bavarian-Thuringian border had already burned on Tuesday.
The drought is also noticeable in other places: because the Main has too little water in parts of the region, canoe rentals have been discontinued there. On Wednesday, the level of the Main near Kemmern fell below the specified minimum value of 2.2 meters, said a spokeswoman for the district office in Bamberg. This means that the canoe rental on the Upper Main between Hausen (Lichtenfels district) and Hallstadt (Bamberg district) has been discontinued.
The association Flussparadies Franken is asking all private canoeists and stand-up paddlers not to use this route with immediate effect. After 2017, 2018 and 2022, it was the fourth time that there was too little water in the river in mid-June, the spokeswoman said. Global warming is putting the Main and nature under stress.
The managing director of the association Flussparadies Franken, Anne Schmitt, added: “For the fish and all other creatures under water, low water in summer is particularly critical.” Due to the high temperatures, there is also less oxygen in the water. This is mostly hidden from the country dwellers. Canoeing is still possible on other sections of the Main, on the Itz above Rattelsdorf and on the Great Lake Breitengüßbach.