Firefighters in the German state of Brandenburg have been struggling to put out a wildfire that has engulfed a local military training range southwest of Berlin. They can’t enter the site due to the munitions left on the grounds.
“We can’t go in there due to the potential danger,” the vice-mayor of the town of Juterbog, Joachim Wasmansdorff, told local media. Attempts to extinguish the blaze are currently being made from the air, using a helicopter.
The full extent of the wildfire hadn’t yet been established, Wasmansdorff said, adding that it was “rather large,” judging by the column of smoke that rose from it.
The situation is aggravated by strong winds in the area and by the extreme heatwave that has hit Europe in recent days. In Germany, temperatures on Thursday reached +41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) in the northwestern town of Ligen, setting a record for the country.
Fire has threatened the abandoned military range outside Juterbog before, most recently in June, when 750 hectares of the forest were left burnt out.
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