Fires 'under control' in Saxony and Brandenburg

Hundreds of firefighters and other emergency workers contained much of the wildfires in eastern parts of Germany after days of nonstop operations.

The situation is still tense, yet under control, they say, as their relentless work paid off.

On Wednesday, strong winds calmed, which played in favor of the firefighting operations. 

The lingering threat in the wildfire areas of the Saxon Switzerland National Park, not far from Saxony's state capital, Dresden, and in the south of Brandenburg appears to have been contained, yet so far there has been no all-clear issued to residents of the region. 

What is the situation like now? 

Currently, the fires cover an area of about 500 hectares (1,200 acres), down from 850 hectares that were impacted before the emergency workers were able to contain several areas of the fires.

On Wednesday, 450 firefighters were still battling the flames. 

At the moment, the focus of their efforts to contain the fire was on two of the five areas that were ravaged by flames, showing that the situation had become less tense and more manageable. 

Still, the weather conditions and the accessibility of the woods made the situation on the ground more difficult. 

Five helicopters were deployed in an effort to support the firefighting operations from the air. 

As of Wednesday, it had not been necessary to ask any residents to leave their homes. 

Water supplies for firefighters remain critical. In some cases, long hose lines had to be laid from the river Elbe and Kirnitzsch. In others, water tankers had to be transported to the areas affected by the flames. 

"The fire is under control in general, but the danger is not over yet, because there are embers that flare up again and again," said Philipp Haase, the deputy wildfire-protection officer of the state of Brandenburg.

He said he expected operations to last for another week before all embers were extinguished .

During the firefighting operations in the Saxon Switzerland National Park, one firefighter was injured when a fire hose burst. The woman had to be taken to a hospital, according to the spokesman of the District Office of Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains. 

Tourists were told not to enter the eastern area of the national park and that they would be legally prosecuted if they didn’t adhere to the warning. 

Police on Wednesday reported that about 40 people had to be asked to leave the area, while charges were filed against 10 who had gone down specifically cordoned-off pathways.

How did the fire spread? 

The wildfires had sparked in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic over the weekend and had expanded to the Saxon Switzerland National Park on Monday. 

The fires come amid extreme dry conditions across Germany and after a punishing heat wave.

With temperatures rising to above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F), wildfires were breaking out in many regions of southern Europe.

los/msh (dpa, AFP)