Explosions, white smoke, intervention of the army… Berlin is on fire this Thursday.

A massive fire broke out amid drought in Berlin's largest forest on Wednesday, a highly unusual occurrence, from a police ammunition depot.

The skies over Berlin took on exceptional appearances in the heart of summer, with plumes of white smoke visible from afar above a large wooded area in the south-west of the German capital, Grunewald.

At regular intervals explosions sounded in the morning.

"The fire is now well under control," said a spokesman for the fire department in the middle of the day.

“But the situation is totally unusual because we have munitions of war” on the site, which prevent relief from being deployed without precaution, he added.

huge means

Very significant resources have been deployed, with 140 firefighters mobilized, equipment from the German army, with at least one tank to recover explosives, an armored robotic deminer, drones and police helicopters to monitor the area.

Firefighters are bringing in water from a nearby river and lake to try to douse the flames.

A security zone of one km around the place of storage of ammunition has been set up.

Firefighters, 120 in total, are positioned around.

"The fire spread over an area of ​​15,000 square meters, first on a police ammunition and explosives deposit and defusing site, then in the surrounding forest", according to the firefighters.

Controlled explosions

This depot, located in Grunewald, is responsible for carrying out controlled exhibitions of the devices entrusted to it, including World War II bombs, a legion of which are still buried underground in Berlin.

"We call on people not to enter the forest, there is danger to their lives in the perimeter of the fire", according to the spokesperson for the firefighters, "we do not yet know what started the fire , the police are investigating.

"The safety of Berliners is not threatened", however reassured the regional Minister of the Interior, Iris Spranger.

A rare situation

Several explosions from the ammunition depot were heard, the last by an AFP journalist around 11 a.m. local (and French time).

This forest fire also caused disruptions in public transport, with several train lines crossing the area.

Roads have been closed.

However, no homes or people were affected.

It is very rare that the German capital is the victim of such fires.

But with the drought affecting all of Europe, it is increasingly threatened due to the importance of its wooded areas, a particularity of this metropolis of 4 million inhabitants.

Berlin has 29,000 hectares of forest, making it one of the most forested capitals in the world.

The worsening drought

Much of it is now dry.

Already, all around Berlin in the Brandenburg region, several forest fires have broken out since the beginning of the summer.

One of them ravaged more than 850 hectares.

Southeastern Germany, on the border with the Czech Republic, has been fighting for several days to put out a forest fire.

Much of the country is in a state of "extreme" or "exceptional" drought, including Berlin, according to the UFZ institute for environmental research.

According to scientists, repeated heat waves are an unequivocal marker of global warming and these heat waves are expected to multiply, lengthen and intensify.

The rise in temperatures and the multiplication of heat waves and droughts create ideal conditions for forest fires or bush fires.

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