Germany news: New heat record at 41.7 degrees Celsius
06/28/2026 June 28, 2026 Forest fires threaten munition-laden ground in Rhineland-Palatinate One of the larger forest fires is in the former east, near the state
06/28/2026 June 28, 2026 Forest fires threaten munition-laden ground in Rhineland-Palatinate One of the larger forest fires is in the former east, near the state border between Saxony and Brandenburg Image: Robert Michael/dpa/picture alliance The high temperatures are contributing to a series of forest fires across Germany, most of which remain comparatively small for the moment. One, however, in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate is near military training areas where the ground contains spent and sometimes unexploded munitions. In the vicinity of Bad Kreuznach, to the west of Frankfurt and north of Kaiserslautern, the fire first broke out on Saturday afternoon.
Initially a handful of buildings in Traisen near the fire were emptied, but at 2 a.m. people living within a 1-kilometer radius were asked to leave their homes and head to an emergency shelter. Local authorities also arranged hotels for young children, the elderly and infirm. Explosions had taken place amid the fire, and arms disposal teams were on site analyzing the danger. Authorities said they did not believe there was a risk to the houses in the evacuation area, but said they had cleared the radius as a precaution nevertheless.
The fire in Gohrischheide prompted a large weekend response from emergency services Image: Sebastian Willnow/dpa/picture alliance Far to the east, near the state borders between Saxony and Brandenburg, firefighters out in larger numbers trying to contain a fire in the Gohrischheide heath. The blaze was contained to a smaller area overnight, local mayor Mirko Pollmer said. However, with temperatures rising and winds also expected to pick up during Sunday, he warned that the fire was deemed likely to regain strength during the day.
Another fire to the north in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania has been burning since the middle of the week. On Sunday, firefighters were planning an operation to cool a former Soviet-era tank training area near the blaze that also has munitions in the ground. Saxony-Anhalt also reported two meaningful forest fires, with emergency services still responding on Sunday.
The BriefWire