Gohrischheide Forest Fire: Municipality of Zeithain Expects Costs Exceeding Half a Million Euros

Pollmer spoke of coordinated and effective cooperation among the forces. He said verbatim to MDR SACHSEN: „Durch die koordinierte und effektive Zusammenarbeit zwischen Löschhubschraubern und dem geschützten Tanklöschfahrzeug konnte die Lage schnell unter Kontrolle gebracht werden". The fire had spread across an area of roughly 16 hectares, it was reported.

Estimate of Operation Costs

According to Pollmer, the estimate of more than half a million euros includes, among other things, lost earnings for emergency personnel from the fire department, THW, and rescue services, as well as the rental of the armored firefighting vehicle. When asked how the municipality is supposed to raise this sum, the mayor was clear: „So eine kleine Gemeinde wie Zeithain kann solche Kosten nicht jedes Jahr stemmen".

Pollmer called on the Free State of Saxony and the state enterprise Sachsenforst, as the owner of the Gohrischheide, to bear the operation costs. The municipality expects at least partial reimbursement. It must also be examined whether a budget freeze becomes necessary for the municipality, said the independent mayor.

The municipality of Zeithain used the opportunity to make a fundamental demand of the state: it is calling for investment in its own protected tank firefighting vehicle. Such a vehicle could contain future operations earlier and more effectively, thereby reducing costs, the administration argued.

Demand on the Free State of Saxony

During firefighting operations, areas of the nature reserve on the former military training ground were inaccessible to firefighters because old ammunition lies in the ground and there is a risk of explosion. This situation makes the Gohrischheide particularly difficult to combat according to the operations leadership's assessment.

The Gohrischheide lies on the state border between Saxony and Brandenburg. Just the year before, Saxony's largest forest fire in decades had raged there. Pollmer assumes that the operation costs will again be in the six-figure range.

Situation at the State Border

After the end of the operation, the burned area was to be handed back to Sachsenforst during the course of Tuesday. A damage assessment regarding the forest stock as well as possible consequences for the nature reserve is still pending according to the municipality.

It remains unclear whether the municipality will actually be left covering the bulk of the costs. Pollmer expressed confidence that talks with the state and Sachsenforst would be initiated in the coming days. The municipality insists that the owner and the state fulfill their responsibility.

Overall, the operation illustrates the growing financial burden on small municipalities during extreme forest fires. Repeated major damage incidents in forests contaminated with ammunition, such as the Gohrischheide, pose structural problems for municipalities that can hardly be managed with municipal resources alone.

Experts have long pointed out that former military training grounds in eastern Germany can hardly be reached using conventional firefighting methods due to the old ammunition in the ground. Specially equipped vehicles could provide a remedy here — but they are rare and expensive.