Fires Large forest fire on the Brocken in Germany spreads

The emergency services have still not brought the large-scale forest fire on the highest mountain in the German Harz National Park under control. According to a briefing, many areas of fire have merged and a larger fire front has developed.

The fire, which has been blazing for hours, will continue to be fought intensively from the air and on the ground - with helicopters, airplanes and many firefighters. According to the Harz district in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the fire continued to spread unhindered early on Saturday morning.

Neither the district nor the police and fire department were willing to provide further details until the early hours of the morning. Head of operations Immo Kramer told the German news agency DPA: "The THW (German Federal Agency for Technical Relief) is in the process of building paths and preparing a bridge so that the operation can continue on the ground in daylight."

Sprinklers are being used along important paths to distribute several thousand liters of water per minute to prevent the flames from advancing any further. According to Kramer, four fire-fighting aircraft and six fire-fighting helicopters had been requested for Saturday. During the night, some firefighters had to retreat because individual protective strips had been jumped over by the fire.

500 people evacuated

Around 500 people were brought to safety from the Brocken by bus on Friday afternoon. They were tourists, hikers and sportspeople, said a spokesman for the district.

The path to the Brocken is one of the most popular hiking trails in the Harz National Park. The area is generally very difficult to access. The national park is located southwest of Magdeburg, the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt. There is currently no danger to the town of Schierke, which is popular with tourists and is located a few kilometers away from the fire area, said Kramer.

SDA