Mirow (dpa / mv) - In parts of the northeast, the highest forest fire risk level has been in effect since the beginning of the week. On Monday, the Mirow forest management office indicated danger level five. Accordingly, the area from Plauer See via Waren to Burg Stargard and in the south to the state border is affected. In the adjacent parts of the country to Schwerin and Wismar in the west and from Lake Kummerow to Anklam including the island of Usedom in the east, the second highest warning level prevailed. Warning levels one and three only applied north of it.
The Schwerin Environment Minister Till Backhaus (SPD) recently warned of the increasing risk of forest fires in the course of the drought and again pointed out that lighting fires and smoking within a distance of 50 meters from the edge of the forest is prohibited by law. Already from warning level two on-call services at the lower forest authorities. From level four, the exchange of authorities and security forces is increased and closures are possible.
"The means of blocking forests is usually the last step," said Nils Henke, spokesman for the Mecklenburg Lake District district. "First and foremost, common sense is appealed to." It could even be good if some people go into the forest. "They can help detect fires early." However, there should be as little traffic as possible.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), temperatures of up to 34 degrees were announced for Monday beyond the coast. Despite the predicted storm with heavy rain or even hail, some regions could remain dry. For Tuesday, the DWD predicted drier weather and lower temperatures of up to 26 degrees.
There had already been fires in the northeast in the past few days, for example in an ammunition-loaded forest near Neustrelitz, where the evacuation of a prison was at times in the room. Also on Friday there was a fire south of Schwerin near Rastow in an ammunition-loaded forest. In Born on the Darss, lightning had set a thatched house on fire.
According to the Schwerin Ministry of the Environment, 22 camera locations monitor around 291,000 hectares of forest and thus 52 percent of the country's total forest area. In addition, so-called forest burn strips have been expanded, areas in which the combustible material is reduced to a minimum. In 2021, the state forest recorded 30 forest fires, which destroyed an area of more than 15.5 hectares of forest.
