A rapidly spreading forest fire near Hürtgenwald in North Rhine-Westphalia has driven almost 2,000 people from their homes and triggered a major operation involving hundreds of responders. With the flames closing in, authorities cleared the district of Gey, home to around 1,800 residents, during the night into Friday, according to the district of Düren and the municipality of Hürtgenwald. The fire, which broke out on Thursday, has since spread across an area of around 300 hectares.
More than 200 personnel from the fire service, the Technical Relief Agency (THW), the Bundeswehr and other organisations were deployed on Friday. Helicopters supported the firefighting effort with water drops from the air, and three further helicopters belonging to the Bundeswehr and the state were en route, according to the authorities. Two Bundeswehr tanks were also in action. Firebreaks were additionally cut through the burning forest overnight to contain any further spread of the flames.
"Firefighting operations are running at full speed," the district authority in Düren said. The situation was "dynamic and dependent on the direction of the wind." Reception points were set up for those affected at a primary school and a sports clubhouse. Evacuees were told during the night to take only the bare essentials with them. The district set up a crisis team, having already declared a major incident the previous day.
According to the authorities, firefighting helicopters drew water from surrounding reservoirs and from a large basin. "Farmers are helping and sourcing water," the district said. Forestry workers were also involved in tackling the blaze.
The command team assembled personnel from across North Rhine-Westphalia, including a specialist state wildfire-fighting module operated by the fire services. According to the Düsseldorf fire service, it consists of twelve vehicles and 32 personnel. The module was most recently deployed at forest fires in Spain and the Netherlands, among other locations.
The Düsseldorf professional fire service said the district of Düren additionally activated a special state framework for cross-regional support on Friday. Firefighting crews from the state capital, as well as from the district of Mettmann and the Rhine-Neuss district, then set off for the scene.
The state police dispatched four water cannon to the fire area to support the firefighting effort, officers in Cologne said on Friday. Two riot police units were also on standby there for cordoning and traffic management measures. Two police helicopters were involved in the firefighting operation, with two further helicopters from the state and federal police available.
Emergency crews across Germany have been battling numerous forest and open-land fires for days in persistently hot, dry weather. Temperatures well above 30 degrees currently prevail in large parts of the country. According to the weather service, the heatwave will last into the weekend.
At Möhnesee near Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, responders also continued to battle a larger forest fire throughout the night. According to local fire services, around 100 responders from various organisations were deployed there and prevented any further spread. Conditions in the fire area were described as difficult. A safe operation had not been possible there because of the topography and severely damaged trees, and in places the forest floor also had to be dug over.
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