Germany: Fire rages out of control in the Grünewald forest

The early morning fire in the Grünewald forest west of Berlin is still raging out of controlfrom explosion at a police explosives storage and disposal facility. According to the fire department, there were no injuries and no residential areas are at risk, but the continuous explosions make the firemen’s work extremely difficultwhile the situation is aggravated by the high temperatures of the last few days.

The first explosion, as reported by APE-MPE, occurred at 03:30 am, in the area where the police gather, control and illegally destroys explosives. At the time of the explosion, it is possible that there were even 50 tons of explosives in the area, said a representative of the Fire Department and explained that controlled blasting stops in June, due to the high risk of forest fires in the summer. The situation is being monitored by a police helicopter and a drone, the armed forces are also operating at the scene with heavy vehicles, while firefighting forces are spraying the forest within a radius of 1000 meters from the fire. Temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius are expected in the area today, but the winds are blowing with low intensity.

The authorities have notified residents of the wider area to keep doors and windows closed and ventilation and air conditioning systems off. In addition, traffic on adjacent highways and railways has been disrupted.

“The forest is dry. It hasn’t recovered from the last few dry spells,” said state government Department of Environment and Climate spokesman Jan Thomsen, who, when asked about whether the forest was an appropriate site for an explosives cache, stressed that security issues will be set after the cause of the fire is clarified.