The drought of the past few weeks has affected large parts of Germany.
In several regions in the east and in Lower Saxony there is a medium to very high risk of forest fires.
In Saxony, for example, there is a very high risk of forest fires.
For parts of the districts of North Saxony and Bautzen and for the state capital Dresden, the highest forest fire warning level 5 applied on Sunday. For the other parts of the country, the second highest warning level 4 was declared almost everywhere.
Only in a small strip in the Ore Mountains on the Czech border was the situation still relaxed.
If the two highest warning levels apply, the forests should not be entered if possible.
In any case, people should not leave the main paths.
The districts and urban districts can also take further measures.
In Chemnitz and Schwarzenberg, fires were reported in a forest and on a meadow over the weekend.
In both cases, the police suspect that the fires were started by fireworks.
The Chemnitz police department announced on Sunday that arson was being investigated.
The risk of forest fires should remain high almost across the country on Monday.
Experts only expected the situation to improve on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the German Weather Service (DWD) said on Sunday that it would rain on Monday and especially on Tuesday.
However, the rainfall is not particularly heavy.
And then it looks like dry weather again.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to the forest authorities, the previously dry March in the forests has so far caused a medium risk of forest fires.
As the responsible state forest institute in Malchin announced on Monday, warning level three prevails in five of the nine forest offices, i.e. the third highest of a total of five warning levels.
This affects the forest offices of Radelübbe, Güstrow, Sandhof, Jasnitz and Mirow, which extend from the district of Northwest Mecklenburg to the border with Brandenburg at the Müritz National Park.
This is the start of the on-call service in the forest authorities.
On Saturday afternoon there was a first small forest fire near Lütow on the island of Usedom (West Pomerania-Greifswald).
About a hectare of coastal forest burned towards the backwater.
Above all, dry grass and undergrowth were victims of the flames, which three fire brigades extinguished.
Police estimated the damage at $2,000.
There is a suspicion of negligent arson.
Cameras detect smoke development at an early stage
The danger of forest fires is also increasing in Brandenburg, despite the precipitation of recent months.
According to the Ministry of Forestry, the second highest warning level four is expected for the coming days, it said a few days ago.
Low humidity, long periods of sunshine and light winds mean that the topsoil in the forest dries out quickly.
Twigs lying on the forest floor as well as dry grass and leaves can ignite.
Evaporation is high despite the night frosts, said the country's forest fire officer, Raimund Engel, on Thursday.
"Appearances are deceptive." Even a discarded cigarette butt is enough to ignite a forest fire.
According to the Ministry of Forestry, smoking is prohibited in the forest all year round.
The Lower Saxony State Forests also warn of the risk of forest fires in view of the dry weather.
The very low humidity and the light wind dried out the brushwood lying on the ground in the forest, the arid vegetation from the previous year and the topsoil.
The state forests warn of the high risk of forest fires and appeal to forest visitors to be aware of the dangers.
According to the forest fire danger levels of the German Weather Service - 1 to 5 - the values will rise to the middle danger level 3 in almost all of Lower Saxony in the coming days. In the area of the central and eastern Lüneburg Heath with its extensive, light pine forests, the second highest level 4 is expected.
The forest fire control center in Lüneburg is manned by specially trained foresters from forest fire danger level 3.
440,000 hectares of forest are monitored in north-eastern Lower Saxony, which is particularly at risk.
The images and data from the surveillance cameras from 17 locations in Lower Saxony, and more recently from three locations in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, converge in the forest fire control center.
The cameras have an all-round view of more than ten kilometers and detect smoke development at an early stage.
Smoking is currently prohibited in the forest, no open fire may be made.
Cars should not be parked over dry vegetation and only in such a way that escape routes remain free.