For weeks, the forces in the Emsland fight against a smoldering moorland fire. After the flames were increasingly contained, now the disaster is lifted. A spreading of the fire on adjacent communities does not threaten any more, said Landrat Reinhard winter.

The catastrophe had been proclaimed a week ago because it had been feared by wind and sparks that the flames could endanger neighboring forests and settlements. Around 1,600 rescue teams fought the fire on a Bundeswehr site near Meppen.

The fire on the shooting range had been triggered at the beginning of the month by a Bundeswehr missile test. The plume of the moorland fire was temporarily pulled up to 100 kilometers over the northwest of Germany to Bremen.

Currently, nothing indicates an acute health risk, said an employee of the Lower Saxony Ministry of Interior in Hannover. All measurements in the vicinity of the fire have so far not exceeded limit values.

"With regard to the current fire events and the firefighting on the grounds of the Bundeswehr, we can currently exclude an evacuation scenario for our Emsland communities - and far-reaching normality can move back into public life," said Winter.

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Moorbrand on Bundeswehr terrain: breathe in Emsland

The Bundeswehr has made important progress in firefighting, especially in the area adjacent to the district. Therefore, the danger potential has decreased significantly, said the district administrator. However, the Moorbrand was not extinguished and the local district fire brigades continued to be ready for action at short notice.

Meanwhile, sabotage hampers the use of firefighters on the site. "It has been damaged again a fire hose," said Bundeswehr firefighter Andreas Sagurna. It was a hose slit directly on the coupling. He did not want to speculate about possible perpetrators. "I just think it's unfair to the helpers." Yesterday, the Bundeswehr had reported a possible sabotage case. On water hoses a defect was found. The field fighters checked the incident, and the site should be guarded more closely.