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Hanover (dpa / lni) - Just in time for the beginning of the forest fire season, Lower Saxony relies on forest fire tank fire engines.
Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Boris Pistorius handed over a corresponding vehicle to the Heidekreis for the first test phase today.
Before that, the vehicle is put through its paces in the presence of the SPD politician by the Lower Saxony State Office for Fire and Disaster Protection in Celle.
The Lower Saxony State Forests had already announced that they would be renewing the Automated Early Detection System (AWFS) in Lüneburg.
Last year, the fires started in mid-March.
The particularly endangered risk areas are in north-eastern Lower Saxony.
The monitored area extends to the six districts of Lüneburg, Heidekreis, Uelzen, Gifhorn, Lüchow-Dannenberg and Celle, the state forests recently announced.
The aim is to localize forest fires as early as possible and to fight them successfully.
The unusual warmth of the past few days had increased the risk of forest fires in the Harz Mountains, the "turbo spring", the rapid snowmelt and strong sunlight paired with wind made dead leaves and plants dry out quickly, as the national park announced.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210228-99-630795 / 2