About 500 people are being evacuated from a mountain in northern Germany due to a forest fire, a spokesman for the Harz district said Friday, as the fire continued to spread despite efforts to control it.
Tourists, hikers and sports enthusiasts are taken down by bus from the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains.
The forest fire was discovered in the afternoon in Königsberg. District fire chief Kai-Uwe Lohse initially spoke of a fire that extended over about 300 meters.
By evening, two planes from the state of Lower Saxony, a plane from the Harz district and a helicopter were deployed to extinguish the fire, the district spokesman said. Six more helicopters had been requested.
According to him, many fires have merged and a larger front has emerged, despite the efforts of 150 firefighters on site.
The city of Wernigerode and the regional district have formed a joint task force. The Harz Narrow Gauge Railways have closed a route due to the forest fire, causing significant delays.
Currently, the risk of forest fires in large parts of the state of Saxony-Anhalt is very high after the recent fires, especially in the north of the state. However, most fires were extinguished quickly.
