Updated

Updated · DW (English) · Aug 14

Hürtgenwald Wildfire Forces 1,800 Evacuations and Injures 5 as WWII Munitions Hamper Response

Updated

Updated · DW (English) · Aug 14

Hürtgenwald Wildfire Forces 1,800 Evacuations and Injures 5 as WWII Munitions Hamper Response

Q: What deadly secret lurking beneath the Hürtgenwald forest floor is forcing emergency crews to fight Germany's largest wildfire from a distance?

The danger is unexploded World War II ordnance buried under the Hürtgenwald forest floor. Officials say the forest still contains shells and other munitions left from the 1944 Battle of Hürtgen Forest. As the wildfire burns through dry ground and vegetation, those explosives can detonate, making it too dangerous for firefighters to enter some areas directly. That is why emergency crews have had to fight parts of the blaze from a distance, relying on helicopters, heavy machinery, rescue tanks and firebreaks rather than sending personnel into the most contaminated zones. Reports from the scene said explosions from old munitions were heard during the fire, underscoring the risk. The hidden wartime debris has turned an already difficult wildfire — driven by heat, wind, steep terrain and a dry forest floor — into a much more dangerous operation. It is a key reason authorities have described the Hürtgenwald blaze as an unusually complex emergency, even by large wildfire standards.

3 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Aug 14

About 1,800 residents were evacuated from the Hürtgenwald area near Belgium, and authorities said the village of Gey will stay empty overnight after flames came within 400 meters.
At least 200 hectares have burned in what North Rhine-Westphalia says is likely its biggest forest fire on record, with roughly 400 personnel, federal police and military assets deployed.
Five people were injured — four rescue workers and one elderly resident — while shifting smoke and ash forced officials to move public gathering points farther from the blaze.
Unexploded World War II munitions in the forest have complicated firefighting, with reported detonations limiting ground access and requiring rescue tanks and helicopters.
Police in Cologne opened a public tip portal to investigate the cause, while officials warned containment could last through the weekend despite cooler weather and a 50% chance of light rain.