German firefighters tackle wildfire in Harz region

By Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Firefighters were busy tackling large forest fires that erupted on Friday afternoon in the Harz district, northern Germany.

According to the EU Copernicus Emergency Management Service: “Prolonged drought and hot temperatures caused forest fires in the Harz region in Saxony-Anhalt.”

“This area is prone to forest fires and has been on fire multiple times this year. The area has a lot of dry underbrush and dead wood,” reported the service.

According to the Harz Fire Department, a strip of about 300 meters in length in Wernigerode, Saxony-Anhalt state, caught fire shortly before 2 p.m, where clouds of smoke could be seen for kilometers.

There were several fires that had joined together during the night to Saturday. This created a fire front around 1,000 meters wide that could not be brought under control for a long time, according to Tag24 news website.

"We have managed to contain the fire by using a lot of manpower and technology," said Harz district fire chief Lohse, stating that the fire is currently no longer spreading.

However, the operation is far from over. "We expect it to take several days, but we hope that this will be over when the general weather situation changes on Monday," Lohse continued.