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Kratzeburg/Neubrandenburg – There are dramatic images that can be seen from… Forest fires in California (USA) It is known: A helicopter flies over the treetops and extinguishes the blazing flames with tons of water. But this is not Los Angeles, this is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. There is a fire in the Müritz National Park!
On the largest continentNational Park In Germany (about 322 square kilometers), emergency services are fighting a forest fire that broke out on the territory of a former military training ground. Most recently, about 360 hectares burned, as the Mecklenburg Lake District announced in the evening. This corresponds to approximately 500 football fields.
Major fire continues to spread
I hear detonation again and again!
Bundeswehr helicopters are helping to water the areas to contain the fire. The water intake points are Dambecker See, Granziner See, Kebeliksee and Gottesbecker See. Helicopters are scheduled to provide on-site support again tomorrow morning. The operation is scheduled to continue around 10:30. Firefighters from other federal states will send emergency services and equipment to Müritz.
Strong explosions, some very strong, were heard again and again at the site, said the district administrator of the Mecklenburg Lake District, Thomas Müller (CDU). No wonder! According to the ammunition recovery service, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern About 60,000 hectares of forest – about ten percent of the total forest area – are contaminated by munitions. Of these, about 28.4 thousand hectares belong to the 4th highest risk category, which includes armor-piercing ammunition.
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The large explosion was likely caused by armor-piercing ammunition. “Since much of the area cannot be accessed, we must be prepared for a long operation,” says Müller. Two large CH-53 helicopters can carry up to 5,000 liters of water each. A smaller helicopter was also at the scene, according to the county. However, it is unclear whether helicopters will be able to drop water directly over the fire. Due to the ammunition load, a safe distance of at least 1000 meters applies on the ground and in the air.
A fire broke out in the Müritz National Park on Monday.
I’m hoping for a thunderstorm
The fire was reported on Monday. Since then, the fight against the fire has been in full swing. About 400 emergency services were reportedly there on Thursday. A thunderstorm is expected tomorrow. Because: Strong winds recently accelerated the spread of the fire. The flames are spreading mainly to the south and east. The county announced that the Granzin area should continue to be evacuated.
Note about transparency: An earlier version of the article stated that Müritz National Park is Germany’s largest national park. In fact, it is the largest on the mainland, but three parks are even larger: Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea (441,500 ha), Lower Saxony Wadden Sea (345,000 ha) and Western Pomerania Lagoon Landscape (78,600 ha). We have corrected the error and apologize.