Smell of Wildfires Reaches Berlin as Warning Issued for Brandenburg

The smell of burning reached Berlin on Saturday as wildfires continued to rage in Saxony to the south of the German capital, and officials issued a warning to many in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds the city.

The wind has shifted towards Brandenburg and is now blowing from the south, according to the operation command.

The smell of the fire on the border between the two states has reached some in southern Berlin.

While district officials recently said the situation was largely stable after efforts to contain the fire since it broke out on Tuesday, some 650 emergency workers were involved in the firefighting efforts in the middle of the day on Saturday.

The emergency services in Brandenburg are bracing for the fire to flare up again in the region. “The situation could become even more critical in the afternoon when the wind picks up from the south and temperatures rise,” said Martin Neumann, head of operations in the spa town of Liebenwerda.

Local firefighters were expecting additional support in the form of firefighting helicopters from Bavaria in the course of the day, to back up the three already in operation.

There is a further wildfire in Thuringia to the west of Saxony, where the state premier, Mario Voigt, thanked emergency response workers in a visit to the operations centre there.

Officials called a state of emergency after the fire broke out on Wednesday for reasons that remain unclear. It has so far spread to an area covering at least 250 hectares, with firefighting efforts continuing.