- Title: Risk of forest fires rises in Germany
- Date: 13th May 2016
- Summary: BRANDENBURG COMMISSIONER FOR FOREST FIRE PREVENTION, RAIMUND ENGEL, ARRIVING AT CONTROL CENTRE AND GREETING COLLEAGUES CLOSE UP OF ENGEL SIGN ON ENGEL'S SHIRT READING (German) 'FOREST ADMINISTRATION' SMOKE CAUSED BY FOREST FIRE SEEN ON COMPUTER SCREEN ZESCH AM SEE, GERMANY (MAY 10, 2016) (REUTERS) ENGEL SITTING IN CAR AND DRIVING TOWARDS FOREST FIRE SITE FIREFIGHTERS GETTING OUT OF FIRE ENGINE FIREFIGHTER PUTTING ON FIRE-PROOF GLOVES VARIOUS OF FIREFIGTHERS DURING FIREFIGHTING OPERATIONS ENGEL OVERWATCHING FIREFIGHTING OPERATIONS FIRE BEING EXTINGUISHED (SOUNDBITE) (German) BRANDENBURG COMMISSIONER FOR FOREST FIRE PREVENTION, RAIMUND ENGEL, SAYING: "It's the first weekend or even week of the year with nice weather, high-pressure weather with temperatures far above 20 degrees and this of course is a situation, which draws attention to the forest fire danger indices. This means, we have the highest danger index in Brandenburg already for a few days. Today it slightly fell to index four, the second highest, which still means a high risk of forest fires. As you can notice, the forest is in motion as the wind during midday hours becomes choppy. This means, if it burns like here now, there will be always the risk that a fire flares up again and widens out." VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTING OPERATIONS (SOUNDBITE) (German) BRANDENBURG COMMISSIONER FOR FOREST FIRE PREVENTION, RAIMUND ENGEL, SAYING: "I believe we are slowly going to notice the climate change here. We have experienced temperatures of almost 40 degrees during this time of year lately and the change between hot periods and strong rainfalls, weather extremes have increased and especially in hot, dry periods - which of course are a precondition - forest fires can emerge. We have to say that we notice this, forest rangers see a change. It is slow, but ongoing. And it is surely affecting the forest fires as we see them here, in the coming years." TREES MOVING IN THE WIND VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTING OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (German) BRANDENBURG COMMISSIONER FOR FOREST FIRE PREVENTION, RAIMUND ENGEL, SAYING: "At this site we got off lightly. Thanks to good forest fires controls and early warning. We have detected the fire at an early stage, the emergency services arrived quickly and were able to start their firefighting operations straight away." VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTING OPERATIONS UNDERWAY FIRE ENGINE DRIVING OFF ROAD THROUGH FOREST SIGN READING (German): 'CIGARETTE STUBS ARE INCENDIARY MATERIAL'
- Embargoed: 28th May 2016 09:30
- Keywords: forest fires Germany
- Location: WUENSDORF AND ZESCH AM SEE, GERMANY
- City: WUENSDORF AND ZESCH AM SEE, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Fires
- Reuters ID: LVA0034HN4Q4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:While Germans are enjoying the first hot and sunny spell of the year, high season also starts for the staff at the forest fires control centre in the eastern German state of Brandenburg. With rising temperatures also the forest fires danger index is increasing and already hit the highest levels in the state surrounding the German capital Berlin, which is known for its dry sandy grounds and lesser rainfalls compared to other parts of Germany.
"It's the first weekend or even week of the year with nice weather, high-pressure weather with temperatures far above 20 degrees and this of course is a situation, which draws attention to the forest fire danger indices. This means, we have the highest danger index in Brandenburg already for a few days," explained Raimund Engel, Brandenburg commissioner for forest fire prevention.
Engel and his colleagues monitor the forest fire situation at the control centre in Wuensdorf to catch forest fires at an early stage. Video cameras have been installed to be able to transmit pictures of forests and possible fires. Forest rangers are in close contact to exchange information quickly and alarm the firefighters early on. This is especially important as Brandenburg forests consist to 70 percent of pine trees, which burn very easily and therefore pose a great risk for the fire to spread widely, explained Engel, who also overwatches firefighting operations on site.
"I believe we are slowly going to notice the climate change also here. We have experienced temperatures of almost 40 degrees during this time of year lately and the change between hot periods and strong rainfalls, weather extremes have increased and especially in hot, dry periods - which of course are a precondition - forest fires can emerge. We have to say that we notice this, forest rangers can see a change. It is slow, but ongoing. And it is surely affecting the forest fires as we see them here, in the coming years," predicted Engel.
Engel and the firefighters on site in the forest near the small town of Zesch am See managed to extinguish the fire. But Engel emphasised that risks would remain due to strong winds. "If it burns like here now, there will be always the risk that a fire flares up again and widens out," he said.
Even though the weather forecast predicts lower temperatures and rain for the upcoming Whitsunday weekend, the risk of forest fires will remain high, forest officials said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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