The forest on the Brocken in the Harz Mountains is on fire again. Day trippers and tourists are brought to safety, but the emergency services cannot bring the fire under control. The district administrator declares an emergency.
A fire below the Brocken summit in the Harz Mountains continued to spread during the night. In the meantime, an area of around 62 hectares of forest is burning, said Wernigerode's city spokeswoman after a briefing. The fire broke out on Saturday and is not yet under control.
Five fire-fighting helicopters and more than 300 emergency services are fighting the fire, and a good 50 police forces are currently securing the area around the Brocken, which is closed to visitors. Two fire-fighting aircraft from other European countries were also expected. A no-fly zone has been set up for civil air traffic within a radius of 40 kilometres.
District Administrator Thomas Balcerowski proclaimed a disaster. The district of Harz is assuming several days of extinguishing work, explained Wernigerode's city spokeswoman. The fire was discovered on Saturday around 2:30 p.m. on the Goetheweg near the Goethebahnhof vantage point. The Goetheweg to the Brocken is one of the most frequented hiking trails in the Harz National Park. The fire brigade had problems with the extinguishing work because the area was impassable, the city of Wernigerode announced late Saturday evening. According to the information, the town of Schierke, which belongs to Wernigerode, is not at risk.
Because of the fire, the Harz narrow-gauge railways do not go up the 1,141-meter-high mountain. As the railway company announced on its website, there is limited train service between Wernigerode and Drei Annen Hohne.
Hikers and day-trippers had been brought to safety because of the heavy smoke. According to the city spokeswoman, the mountain plateau, which is popular with tourists, was completely evacuated by Saturday evening. Among other things, there is a hotel and the Brocken station of the Harz narrow-gauge railways on the summit.
A forest fire broke out near Schierke at the foot of the Brocken on August 11th. It burned for several days. Roland Pietsch, head of the Harz National Park, spoke of 3.6 hectares of forest with dead spruces. The place where the fire broke out is said to have been near the railway line of the Brockenbahn.
