Overview
- The Gohrischheide fire spans about 200 hectares, has crossed from Saxony into Brandenburg and triggered mandatory evacuations in Heidehäuser and Neudorf.
- A separate wildfire on the Saalfelder Höhe in Thuringia covers roughly 300 hectares under a catastrophe alarm, making it the largest regional blaze since 1993.
- Firefighters have brought a 165-hectare fire near Jüterbog under control, but the Gohrischheide and Saalfelder Höhe hotspots remain active.
- More than 500 personnel from Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia, backed by a police reconnaissance helicopter, are engaged in containment efforts.
- Unexploded munitions on former training grounds force crews and water-dropping helicopters to keep a 1,000-meter safety distance, hindering direct suppression.