Forest fire in the Gohrischheide spreads further overnight

Situation at the fire site

Zeithain's mayor Mirko Pollmer (independent) spoke in the morning of extremely difficult conditions. "Immer wieder auffrischender Wind erschwere die Löscharbeiten", said Pollmer. The fire load is high because, due to the previous fire, a great deal of deadwood is lying on the area and hip-high, very dry grass has grown.

According to Mayor Pollmer, the area in question is north of the former airfield near the former bunker. "Die Gohrischheide gilt wegen der dort im Boden liegenden Altmunition als besonders schwierig für Löscharbeiten", it was stated. Parts of the nature reserve on the former military training area cannot be entered by firefighters due to the risk of explosion.

Instead, they are forced to wait along paths and intervene when the flames jump out of the danger zone. Already on Saturday, the heat had caused significant problems for the firefighters; some were said to have already complained of circulation problems. "Rund 170 Feuerwehrleute sind im Einsatz", the authorities announced. By Saturday evening, around 170 emergency personnel had been alerted.

Armored firefighting vehicle deployed

On Saturday evening, an armored firefighting vehicle from Saxony-Anhalt arrived to provide support. The vehicle, belonging to a private company from Saxony-Anhalt, is protected against shrapnel in case munitions explode. As Bretschneider said, the special vehicle already performed well during the devastating fire last year. In addition, a firefighting helicopter assisted with the firefighting effort from the air.

Local communities were not initially threatened by the fire. The emergency personnel wanted to prevent gusty winds forecast for Sunday from causing flying sparks and new outbreaks of fire. Temperatures of almost 40 degrees are also expected on Sunday; according to the forecast by the German Weather Service, severe thunderstorms are expected to move in during the course of the day.

Weather situation and outlook

At a situation meeting on Sunday morning, the situation is to be reassessed according to the emergency personnel. According to investigations by the public prosecutor's office, the fire was triggered by heat-induced spontaneous combustion of old munitions.

Reminder of the 2025 forest fire

The current fire is reminiscent of the forest fire in the summer of 2025, which according to the authorities was the largest forest fire in decades in Saxony. At that time, hundreds of emergency personnel were deployed for days; more than three quarters of the approximately 2,000-hectare nature reserve was affected by the fire.

Just one year ago, the largest forest fire in decades in Saxony had occurred in the Gohrischheide. Saxony is currently experiencing great heat and drought, increasing the risk of further fires.

The fire department attempted during the night to Sunday to bring the fire under control. Local communities were not initially threatened by the fire, but the authorities were monitoring the development with concern.