Danger of forest fires in Brandenburg: Alert level 4 for five districts!

Danger of forest fires in Brandenburg: Alert level 4 for five districts!

The forest fire season is making itself felt in Brandenburg and the situation is becoming more serious. There is currently a high risk of forest fires in five districts: Havelland, Potsdam-Mittelmark, Märkisch-Oderland, Oder-Spree and Spree-Neiße. These areas are classified with the second highest danger level, 4 n-tv reported. In other places in Brandenburg, the danger situation is predominantly classified as medium high. The weather forecast for the upcoming weekend is not very encouraging: Saturday will be dry and warm with temperatures between 27 and 31 degrees, while there is a risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms on Sunday.

Brandenburg, which, with its forest area of ​​around 1.1 million hectares, makes up around 37 percent of the state's area, has the highest risk of forest fires in a national comparison. This situation is brought about by a large number of pine forests, insufficient rainfall and the predominant light sandy soils. What is alarming is that more than 90 percent of all forest fires are caused by human activity. Last year, fire departments fought forest fires in 125 operations across sectors.

Forest fire prevention in focus

The Brandenburg state government emphasizes the need for precautionary measures to protect against forest fires. It is particularly important to comply with the relevant rules, as violations can be punished with a fine of up to 20,000 euros. Especially in a year in which the forest fire situation is already tense, every individual is asked to make a contribution to fire prevention. The Brandenburg Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Consumer Protection strongly points out that the only natural cause of forest fires is lightning strikes.

A look back at the past few years shows that the area of ​​forest fires in Germany decreased significantly between 1991 and 2017. But a correlation with the extreme weather events of 2018 and 2019 cannot be denied. These years were characterized by immense drought and heat and led to an increase in forest fires in the northeastern federal states, especially in Brandenburg. Here there were over 500 forest fires that damaged 1,674 hectares of forest the Federal Environment Agency determines.

Particular attention is also paid to operations during larger forest fires, where relief workers often reach their limits. The challenge of dealing with incendiary weather conditions not only requires wise use of resources, but also constant improvement of the equipment and training of emergency services. In order to avoid further disasters, it is urgently necessary to invest in efficient prevention and infrastructure.

In summary, it can be said that the risk of forest fires in Brandenburg is a serious issue that affects both private citizens and public authorities. Hopefully, if everyone does their part to minimize fire-promoting conditions and stay vigilant, major damage and dangerous situations can be averted.