- Calm in forest fire stations - Nature thrown back after fire
Much clearer sand, upon which lie charred remnants of pines: Where a year ago forest stood, desolation remains. In June 2023, flames raged for two weeks near Jüterbog (Teltow-Fläming district). The wildfire affected an area of 700 hectares, more than 950 soccer fields, on a former military training ground.
Andreas Meißner, head of the Brandenburg Foundation for Nature Landscapes, speaks of severe impacts on the protected area of Jüterbog a year later: "The area is set back to just after the Ice Age." A setback for the valuable nature that is to develop into a wilderness area at Jüterbog.
Relaxed season - fewer forest fires than in years
This year, the big forest fire alarm has not yet sounded. Plenty of rain has ensured relaxation, said Philipp Haase, deputy forest fire protection officer. "We will probably experience the least forest fire-prone year in ten years." So far, there have been 116 forest fires in Brandenburg up to August, affecting an area of 15.4 hectares.
A comparison: Above all, the season 2022 was an extreme year with 521 forest fires and almost 1,426 hectares of damaged forest. Helicopters, planes, drones, and hundreds of firefighters were deployed in the past, especially because areas contaminated with old ammunition make fire fighting difficult.
State Forest on high alert
Even if the season this time may turn out to be relatively harmless, Brandenburg with its sandy soils and many pines belongs to the driest regions in Germany. Moreover, oaks and beeches are also damaged after dry years.
"We remain on high alert," said Haase about the forest fire risk. Two forest fire control centers monitor Brandenburg with the help of over 100 sensors. Furthermore, the big heat and especially drought could still come until the end of the forest fire season in September.
Unusual drought in parts of Brandenburg
According to the German Weather Service, Germany received as much precipitation from July 2023 to June 2024 as never before since measurements began in 1881. However, the drought monitor of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research shows some spots in the south and northeast of Brandenburg. Unusual drought in the ground prevails in the districts of Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Barnim, Uckermark, and Märkisch-Oderland.
The rainfall of the past months cannot make up for the last dry years, especially regarding the groundwater level, according to the environmental ministry. In view of climate change, it is also important that precipitation is better retained in the landscape - for example, through peat protection and with heavy rain precautions, the authority in Potsdam said.
The state government announced that it will expand protection against fires and natural disasters in the future. The site of Wünsdorf is to become the center of fire and disaster protection as well as a forest fire competence center. Agriculture Minister Axel Vogel (Greens) has always called for more speed in converting forests to make them more resistant to fires and climate extremes with more broad-leaved trees.
Firebreaks and more fire hydrants are to help.
Expanding a forest fire protection system is also considered crucial to better stop fires. The Nature Landscapes Foundation has installed new fire hydrants. In the protected areas, many kilometers of firebreaks have been widened, said conservationist Meißner. This would allow fires to run out as ground fires, as was the case in 2023.
In the wilderness area of Jüterbog, where rare animal and plant species live, conservationists now hope that the landscape can recover as much as possible without any new forest fires.
The current weather situation in Brandenburg has been favorable, with fewer forest fires and plenty of rain, ensuring a more relaxed season compared to last year's extreme wildfires. However, the German Weather Service has reported unusual drought in certain areas of Brandenburg, such as Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Barnim, Uckermark, and Märkisch-Oderland, which could pose a potential threat in the future.
