Fire hell in Mecklenburg: caravans burn in the heat wave!

Fire hell in Mecklenburg: caravans burn in the heat wave!

The hot temperatures in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania caused a lot of excitement last weekend. With temperatures up to 34 degrees Celsius and a forest fire danger level of 5, caution was advised. A fire in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district caused significant damage and required considerable commitment from the fire department. Loud NDR On Sunday evening, flames spread to the premises of a motor vehicle company in Wöbbelin. Two garbage cans and a stack of tires burned, while a mobile home, a car and the hall door of a workshop were affected by the heat. 41 firefighters were deployed to save the situation.

State road 71 between Wöbbelin and the A 14 had to be completely closed due to the fire-fighting measures. The cause of the fire is currently unclear and investigations are ongoing. The material damage is estimated at around 50,000 euros.

More fires and risk of forest fires

But there were fires not only in Wöbbelin. On Sunday afternoon a caravan burned in Züsedom, south of Pasewalk. Here the flames spread to an adjacent arborvitae hedge, but 30 firefighters were able to prevent it from spreading to an empty residential building. A neighbor had allegedly lit a fire in a fire bowl and thrown cardboard boxes onto the embers, causing damage of around €5,000.

A mobile home also had to be extinguished at a campsite in Röbel. The emergency services received the emergency call around 1:30 p.m. Here too, the cause of the fire is still unknown, but extinguishing work was completed quickly. Annexes on surrounding caravans were also damaged, with total damage estimated at €10,000 and fire investigators were called in.

There was another fire on Saturday near Grabow, where a forest fire broke out in a sparse forest area covering around 2,500 square meters. The responsible fire departments from Grabow, Wanzlitz and Karstädt were quickly on the scene and were able to bring the fire under control. The rain that fell on Monday night provided some relief. The forest fire danger levels are expected to decrease to 1 to 2 on Monday after being at the highest level over the weekend.

The forest fire danger index

How dangerous the situation was is shown by the forest fire danger index (WBI), which indicates the risk of forest fires in five levels: from very low danger (level 1) to very high danger (level 5). The forecasts of the German Weather Service help the authorities to issue the necessary warnings and take preventative measures, especially in the period from March to October, when the danger is particularly high.

Experts emphasize that the consequences of climate change are increasingly leading to extreme weather conditions, which is why the risk of forest fires increases in the summer months. Dryer-than-average years and rising temperatures are warning signs that should also be taken into account Forest experts point out. There are regional differences in the danger due to climatic and hydrological conditions, with Brandenburg being particularly affected.

Overall, it is clear that despite the necessary caution and quick reactions by the fire department, the weather conditions and rising temperatures will continue to pose a challenge for fire protection in the coming months.