Forest fires in Germany contained as officials hope for rain

Hundreds of firefighters in northern Germany have successfully contained two large forest fires that burned through former military training grounds littered with hazardous munitions, reported dpa.

The emergency alert for the area around the town of Lübtheen, where fires burned around 100 hectares of land, was lifted on Thursday, according to a spokesman for the district administration.

After weeks of drought, rain is also now in sight again for the parched area, but it may have a limited effect.

"The precipitation can be a small drop in the ocean, especially in the eastern parts of the country plagued by forest fires," a meteorologist from the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach told dpa.

According to the fire chief for Lübtheen, the area burned in the fire will continue to be watered at the edges but there are hardly any flames left. The chief said he hopes to be able to "put out the fire" soon.

On Monday, the forest fire near Lübtheen and a second fire about 30 kilometres away near Hagenow broke out almost simultaneously. Lübtheen is located about halfway between Berlin and the northern port city of Hamburg.

Another forest fire south of Berlin in the state of Brandenburg went out on Wednesday after burning for two weeks.

Dry, sandy areas such as in Brandenburg and the north-eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are particularly vulnerable to forest fires, especially as climate change increases the risk of drought.

A previous major fire in 2019 also burned through the former Lübtheen military training area for about a week, covering a much larger area of almost 1,000 hectares.

Local officials credited their ability to more quickly contain the fires to steps taken since then.