Firefighting Helicopter Battles Smoldering Fire on Former Open-Cast Mining Site Near Meuselwitz

According to initial findings, trees had ignited on a high-voltage power line of a power corridor. The fire broke out at the end of June on a former open-cast mining site. On the Saturday two weeks ago, a large part of the town of Meuselwitz was without electricity. Meanwhile, the surface fire has been extinguished, but in the underground it continues to smolder.

Eight Hectares of Ground on Fire

On an area of eight hectares, however, it is burning in the first 50 centimeters of the ground, explained the regional director for Central Germany at LMBV, Elke Kreische-König. "Wir wollen versuchen, so schnell wie möglich diese Schicht zu löschen, dass sie eben nicht mehr glimmt und glüht und Rauch entwickelt", said Kreische-König. It is to be examined whether this helps and whether the water penetrates deep enough that the fire in the ground can be extinguished.

To this end, the helicopter is to spray around 160,000 liters of water from the residual lake Zipsendorf onto the affected area between Meuselwitz, Mumsdorf, and Falkenhain in eight-hour daily operations. The water is to be drawn from the so-called residual lake Zipsendorf. When the firefighting operations can be completed is so far unclear.

Burden on Residents

Because smoke has been rising for two weeks, a further goal is to contain the fumes and smoke nuisance for residents. At the current time, unfortunately no forecast is possible as to how quickly the firefighting operations on the underground fires will succeed. The LMBV continues to monitor the situation and adjusts the measures to the course of events.

Due to the flight operations, the district road K216 between Mumsdorf and Falkenhain is closed to through traffic until Sunday evening. Residents and road users must prepare for the closure. The authorities ask that the area be bypassed over a wide area.

Closure and Background

The LMBV, as a remediation company, is responsible for the consequences of lignite mining in the region and oversees the safeguarding and subsequent use of former open-cast mining sites. Smoldering fires in the ground are a known problem on such old sites, because coal dust and wood residues can develop heat over long periods of time.

The emergency services on site coordinate the measures closely with the LMBV. Should the helicopter deployment not be sufficient, further steps will be examined in order to bring the smoldering fire fully under control. Residents will be informed about the developments.