Hundreds of firefighters successfully fought two large forest fires on areas contaminated with ammunition in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania within three days. The disaster alarm for the Lübtheen region, where there had been a fire on around 100 hectares of the former military training area, was lifted on Thursday, as a spokesman for District Administrator Stefan Sternberg (SPD) said. On Wednesday, the 160 residents of the village of Volzrade, which was evacuated on Monday, were allowed to return to their homes. After the work was done, the firefighters celebrated the successful operation on Thursday evening with a barbecue.
Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) also paid tribute to the emergency services via Facebook. “I would like to thank all the emergency services from the bottom of my heart who were able to bring the fires under control again in the forest fires in Lübtheen and Hagenow. Their commitment and strength prevented greater harm. That is not to be taken for granted.” The city of Lübtheen had three Black Forest cherry cakes baked for the festival with the inscription: “Lübtheen said thank you”.
Interior Minister Christian level (SPD) referred to the technology purchased after the serious fires in 2019, which helped to get the forest and moor fires of the past few days under control so quickly. But he made it clear: “All this technology is of no use to us without the brave people who operate it, who are trained for it and then, with their help, take up the courageous fight against the flames.”
According to the district, the emergency services were reduced over the course of Thursday. The 47-hectare fire area in the Viezer Heide near Hagenow – also a former military area contaminated with ammunition – was handed over to the Hagenow city fire brigade for further observation on Wednesday. The transfer of the Lübtheen area to the federal forest as the owner is being prepared. Local fire brigades should take over the so-called fire aftercare.
According to an initial assessment by the district, more than 2,270 volunteer fire brigades, technical relief organizations, the German armed forces, police, workers’ Samaritan association, DRK and foresters have been deployed since Monday. 17 to 20 million liters of water were sprayed in Lübtheen and around ten million liters in Hagenow/Viez. Fire protection lanes were kept moist with 80 circular sprinklers. In addition, farmers with liquid manure vehicles and a special vehicle from the State Forestry Agency helped to bring water into the area. The federal police helicopter dropped around 220,000 liters of water over the fire area over two days.
There had already been a major fire on the former Lübtheen military training area in 2019, which covered a much larger area of almost 1000 hectares. The fire then lasted almost a week. The fact that we have now succeeded in keeping the fire significantly smaller and fighting it in half the time is thanks to the many measures that were taken after 2019, said Sternberg. “The lessons we learned from 2019 were quickly successful.”
This includes the purchase of the so-called circular sprinklers as well as several all-terrain fire engines and other modern technology for several million euros. In addition, 15 wells for extinguishing water were drilled at the former Lübtheen military training area and fire protection corridors were cut. Existing aisles were widened to up to 60 meters.
According to the district, the forest fire areas near Lübtheen and Hagenow may not be entered for at least 14 days. There is still an absolute ban on entry, according to a spokeswoman. The reason for this is the aftercare work of the fire brigades and in particular the ammunition load.
In the course of global warming, the risk of forest fires is increasing in many regions, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has established. A warmer climate can contribute to more water falling from the sky, also more often in the form of heavy rain. However, the periods without precipitation are becoming longer in some cases. And especially in areas that are already dry, such as in north-eastern Germany, the danger of periods of drought is increasing. Forest fires can spread faster in extremely dry vegetation.
After weeks of drought, rain is in sight. “The precipitation can be a small drop in the ocean, especially in the eastern parts of the country plagued by forest fires,” said a meteorologist from the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach.
