Berlin forest fire brought under control by firefighters
Michaela Cavanagh
April 22, 2019
The cause of the blaze remains unclear. After an extended drought, the risk of forest fires has spiked in Germany.
One hundred firefighters were deployed to a forest outside of Oranienburg.Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stähle
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A large forest fire erupted 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the German capital early Monday morning. The blaze spread across an area of roughly 2.5 hectares (6 acres) before being brought under control by the fire brigade.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Firefighters work to extinguish the blaze in the early hours of the morningImage: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stähle
After the fire was reported by police at 3 a.m. (0100 UTC), nearly 100 firefighters were dispatched to a wooded area near the city of Oranienburg, in northern Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin.
By morning, 50 emergency personnel were still on-site extinguishing the flames.
Brandenburg is the state with the highest risk of forest fires in Germany because of its particularly sandy soil and its high proportion of pine forests. In 2018 Brandenburg was hit with a high number of forest fires thanks to an extended drought.
Forest fire alerts have been raised across Germany after a drier-than-average winter, with precipitation dropping from an average of 210 liters per square meter (5.2 gallons per square foot) to 180 liters in recent years.
Brandenburg forest fires force evacuation
A local mayor has said that while the region has often had forest fires, they have never been of this magnitude. The fire has spread to the size of 400 football fields.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Graf
Villages evacuated
The fires began on Thursday and soon threatened three villages in the state of Brandenburg, outside Berlin. The towns of Klausdorf and Tiefenbrunnen were evacuated, with locals either fleeing to the homes of friends and relatives or being housed in local shelters. Residents in the village of Frohnsdorf were allowed to return to their homes Friday afternoon.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Scorching heat
The unusually hot summer and drought in Germany meant the fire quickly spread through dried-out pine forests. Many areas have had to enforce campfire and grilling bans.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Pörschmann
Seen for miles
Reports suggested that smoke from the blaze could be seen as far away as 10 kilometers (around 6 miles). Social media users in Berlin said on Friday that they woke up to the sight of smoke in the distance.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Graf
Danger unabated?
By Saturday, authorities said the fire had affected some 400 hectares of land and Berlin residents were told to keep their windows and doors closed to keep out smoke.The fire set off some undetonated World War II and Soviet munitions dumped in the ground, hampering firefighting efforts.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Low winds help
More than 500 people have had to flee the fires. Authorities said they had made some progress containing the fire with low winds coming to their aid, but the situation was unlikely to improve over the next few days.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Pörschmann
Arson suspected
"We've had forest fires before, but never of this magnitude," said Mayor Michael Knappe of Treuenbrietzen, another town in the area. The cause of the fire was initially unclear, but authorities announced that "all indications" now suggest the fire could have been caused by arson.
