Wildfire extinguished in former military area near Berlin
June 11, 2023
After twelve days of fighting the forest fires in the former military training area near Jüterbog south of Berlin, the German firefighters have finally brought the blaze under control.
Due to the danger of ammunition explosions, the firefighters have to fight the fire from the special pathsImage: Bernd März/IMAGO
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Firefighters on Sunday brought the forest fire on the former military training area in Jüterbog south of Berlin under control. The fire department's operations center said it had lifted its warning of the potential for major damages, but said that observation teams would nevertheless stay at the scene.
The rain that fell on Saturday evening helped to fight the fire, according to Silvio Kahle, spokesman for the operations center. "The weather and the extinguishing measures had an effect," he said.
Firefighting efforts were concentrated in the area around Altes Lager, a village in the Teltow Fläming district.
Danger of ammunition explosion
The firefighters have been battling the blaze since May 31, but they couldn't get to the source of the fire directly because of the risk of explosion on the former military training area. Strong winds had repeatedly fanned the flames over the past few days.
The firefighters cleared large strips of land to contain the blaze but were avoiding the former training grounds themselves, where several explosions were heard earlier this week. The risk of more unexploded ordnance was deemed too high.
They could only work on putting the fire out from specially created paths. These were constantly watered, again to reduce the risk from possible stray munitions.
The entire affected area currently covered around 733 hectares, but, according to the operations center, there was no danger to surrounding towns and villages.
Wildfires devastate Brandenburg
One week on, wildfires at an army training site near Jüterbog have yet to be extinguished. Dark clouds billowing from the area are visible from more than 30 kilometers (19 miles) away and the destruction is enormous.
Image: Sven Kaeuler/dpa/TNN/picture alliance
Fighting a massive fire with a tiny stream of water
The wildfire began burning at the Jüterbog military training area outside Berlin on May 31. Though firefighters thought they had it under control at the beginning of the week, they say strong winds rekindled it. Some 90 firefighters have been using 25 trucks to battle the blaze day and night since it began. Aircraft are also being used in the fight to get the blaze under control.
Image: Thomas Schulz/TNN/picture alliance/dpa
A forest graveyard
Only a hint of green remains now that the flames have transformed the forest into a veritable lunar landscape burying trunks and branches under of tons of ash. According to officials in Jüterbog, some 656 hectares (1,621 acres) of forest have already been destroyed.
Image: Paul Zinken/dpa/picture-alliance
Difficult firefighting work
On Wednesday (7.6.2023), helicopters dumped roughly 90,000 liters (23,775 gallons) of water on the blaze. But fighting the fire on the ground is being made extremely difficult by the fact that there are so many munitions on the site. Firefighters cannot simply move into the forest but must strictly stick to marked trails.
Image: Paul Zinken/dpa/picture-alliance
'Not out of control'
Cuts through the forest are intended to keep fires from spreading to other areas. On Monday, authorities also began removing pines — considered more flammable than other trees in the area — in order to widen such paths. According to the Brandenburg Wilderness Foundation, which owns the property, "the situation is not out of control."
Image: Fabian Sommer/picture alliance/dpa
Monitoring from above
Drones are also being used to measure and monitor fire and smoke from above. Drone imagery allows firefighters to see how a fire is moving. It also helps those fighting a blaze from above keep it from escaping its perimeter.
Image: Landkreis Teltow Fläming/dpa/picture alliance
Keep it contained
Fighting a blaze from the skies is intended to do one thing above all, to dampen the intensity of the fire. "Inside the main area, the fire is pretty much left to itself," said Brandenburg Wilderness Foundation Manager Andreas Meissen referring to the current strategy. Firefighters are, however, using sprinkler systems to keep paths wet and the fire from moving into other areas.
Image: Cevin Dettlaff/picture alliance/dpa
The long shadow of smoke clouds
Massive smoke clouds from the area, visible as far away as Berlin — some 30 kilometers away (19 miles) — are blocking the sun and creating their own shadows. On Thursday, many residents in and around Potsdam called hotlines to alert authorities at the Brandenburg fire department that they could smell smoke.
Image: Sven Kaeuler/dpa/TNN/picture alliance
Attention: Risk of death
High temperatures and dry conditions have led to an extreme threat of wildfire. Officials in Jüterbog say firefighting efforts will continue for several more days. On Sunday and Monday several munitions exploded in the site, which has been blocked from public access since June 5.
Image: Paul Zinken/dpa/picture-alliance
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Helicopters helped fight the fire
The German armed forces joined the firefighters on Saturday, providing two helicopters. A police helicopter was also used.
According to the police, around 86,000 liters of water were dropped on 48 approaches on Saturday. Since the beginning of June, around 448,000 liters of water have been used on 249 approaches to provide on-site support.
The danger of forest fires is currently high throughout Brandenburg, with dry weather and barely any rain forecast.
