Weather
Forest fire near Jüterbog: the situation remains tense
Firefighters fight the fire in a forest near Jüterbog. photo
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
In the forest fire in Jüterbog, firefighters have to deal with old dangers. The area is loaded with ammunition. Support comes from the air.
The situation in the forest fire area near Jüterbog south of Berlin was still tense on Saturday. Task forces 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. The extinguishing work concentrated in particular on the area around the village of Altes Lager in the municipality of Niedergörsdorf in the Teltow Fläming district. A thunderstorm brought some rain, but according to the operations management, the situation did not ease.
Strong winds had fanned the flames again and again in the past few days. According to the spokesman for the operations center, Silvio Ramlow, the fire area of 718 hectares has not spread further since last night. The burn area includes burned areas as well as currently burning areas.
Due to the ammunition load in certain areas, the firefighters can only extinguish the fire from specially created paths that are constantly watered. There is a risk of explosion on the former military training area. Northeast and south-west of the area, two ammunition-loaded areas would be closely monitored, said the spokesman for the operations center. “There are no explosions at the moment.” Localities are still not threatened.
It’s been burning for eleven days
There has been a fire at the former military training area for eleven days. On Friday, when the major damage situation was announced, the district took over the management of the operation. This makes it possible to ask emergency services from other areas for support because their own forces cannot cope with the situation. The city of Jüterbog had previously managed the operation.
The extent of the fire near Jüterbog becomes clear from the number of fire-fighting flights by the Federal Police alone. According to your information, around 80,000 liters of extinguishing water were dropped on 44 approaches on Friday alone. Since the beginning of June it has been around 362,000 liters of water.
The danger of forest fires is currently high throughout Brandenburg. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the highest danger level 5 applied in the districts of Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz and Uckermark on Saturday, and the second highest level 4 in the other districts. The forest fire protection officer also sees a high risk for the coming week, because the forecasts of the German The weather service assumed drought and hardly any precipitation.
The district of Teltow-Fläming has gained experience from the fires of recent years, such as the major fire in 2019 on the Jüterbog site. At that time, the fire blazed on the former military training area Jüterbog-West on an area of 744 hectares.