Forest fires in Germany: Flames in the Eifel are spreading
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The flames are said to be out of control, the situation on site is described as chaotic: A forest fire is threatening the municipality of Hürtgenwald in the Eifel.
Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa
dpa/taz | Due to a forest fire in the municipality of Hürtgenwald in North Rhine-Westphalia, a district is being evacuated. The district of Gey, where a good 1,800 people live, is to be "evacuated immediately," the municipality in the Eifel announced early Friday morning.
The warning app Nina shows the highest warning level "Extreme Danger." According to the municipality, the fire is moving further and further towards the district. In the meantime, the flames are only about 400 meters away from the community in the west of NRW. According to the WDR, the situation on site is said to be chaotic and the fire is currently out of control.
In contrast, there have been no incidents during the evacuation so far, a police spokeswoman said early in the morning. Those affected should only take the most necessary personal items as well as identification documents and medication, it was further stated.
25 hectares in flames since Thursday
During the night, the flames were initially still a good 500 meters away from the town in the Eifel. Then the wind turned and the fire moved further forward. Shortly before 4 a.m., the fire department decided to evacuate.
According to the 9,000-inhabitant municipality, the district of Großhau is also endangered by the forest fire. There is no evacuation order there yet. However, people are being asked to avoid the area.
In total, around 25 hectares of forest near Hürtgenwald have been in flames since Thursday afternoon. This corresponds to an area of about 35 soccer fields. The municipality speaks of a "major disaster situation."
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