Forest fire near Senftenberg: Fire brigade reports success after hours of fighting!

Forest fire near Senftenberg: Fire brigade reports success after hours of fighting!

A big sigh of relief goes through Senftenberg because the extinguishing work on the forest fire in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz has largely been completed. How rbb24 reported, the fire brigade was able to successfully extinguish the fire between Peickwitz and Biehlen on Thursday evening, June 19, 2025, after several hours of intensive work. Around one hectare of forest was affected and over 100 emergency services were on site to fight the flames.

The fire broke out around 11 a.m. on Thursday and spread quickly. Particular challenges for the fire department were the strong, changing wind and the need to transport extinguishing water over long distances, including from Lake Senftenberg. Loud Niederlausitz Current also helped local farmers by assisting with water-filled tanks. In addition, the firefighters repeatedly had to fight embers that flared up again in the afternoon, which made the work more difficult.

Fire safety guards remain on site

Although the extinguishing work has been completed, according to a spokeswoman for the Lausitz control center, a fire safety guard will remain on site in the coming hours to ensure that no hidden embers flare up again. There is no official word on the cause of the fire and the investigation is ongoing. The police reported several thousand square meters of forest ground burning and are now investigating the property damage and the circumstances that led to this massive fire.

The Senftenberg incident is part of an increasingly worrying trend: forest fires are becoming more common due to climate change. Statista reports that over 1,200 hectares were destroyed by forest fires in Germany in 2023. Brandenburg is particularly affected and has recorded an increasing number of fires in recent years, which can be attributed to frequent dry and hot periods.

The causes of forest fires are often arson and slight negligence, with around half of the fires having unknown causes. It is therefore an urgent matter to raise awareness among the population about how to deal with fire carefully, because forest fires not only endanger the environment, but also people's health.

In the meantime, there are also other reports from the region: In Calau there was a traffic accident with no injuries, but with material damage of 5,000 euros, while in Schwarzheide a moped driver without a valid driving license was caught. A snack bar was robbed in Senftenberg, and in Ruhland there was a traffic accident that was caused by microsleep.