When Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) arrived in Treuenbrietzen on Sunday evening, firefighters had already been battling flames eating through dust-dry pine forests for more than two days.Initially, 20 hectares of forest were involved, and the situation seemed to be halfway under control. By Saturday, the maximum was 60 hectares. But overnight and on Sunday, winds fanned the flames. At the end of the day, 200 hectares of forest were in flames, with Frohnsdorf, Tiefenbrunnen and Klausdorf the first villages had to be evacuated, several hundred people are affected. In the evening, the situation stabilized.

20 kilometers further north near Beelitz, on the outskirts of Potsdam and Berlin, the next two major fires. The massive clouds of smoke could be seen from the lakes all around, where the excursionists were frolicking. In the evening, the district reported that 200 hectares of forest near Beelitz were in flames. The flames leaped high, spreading rapidly. Beelitz was in a cloud of smoke, the first streets were evacuated.

"The fire is about 1 to 1.5 kilometers outside the city limits," Beelitz Mayor Bernhard Knuth said late in the afternoon. In the city hall, the crisis team compiled lists of residents. In the evening, after all, Knuth announced that the flames had not spread further for hours.

When Woidke steps in front of the press in Treuenbrietzen, he looks seriously into the cameras. For many in the area southwest of Berlin, it's déjà vu all over again. Back then, 400 hectares of forest had burned there, partly in munitions-laden territory. It's hot, and the smoke makes it hard to breathe.

Marko Köhler (SPD), the district administrator of Potsdam-Mittelmark, is standing next to Woidke. Half an hour earlier, he had ordered the evacuation of Klausdorf near Treuenbrietzen. As in 2018, when the fire came to a halt just outside the village."If I compare today to 2018, the situation is much more dangerous," Woidke says. "We have a very dramatic and also dynamic situation. The fire has become a major fire in a very short time," says the head of government. "Shifting winds and gusts that keep rekindling the fire and driving it in different directions." That makes fighting the flames insanely difficult, he adds. "We have to do everything together to control this situation so that, above all, no harm comes to people. That's why the evacuations," Woidke says.

Again and again, the helpers look up at the sky: Where is the announced rain? Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) says there are signs of a slight easing. It is to be hoped that on Monday morning thunderstorms and much, much rain will come.The fire department was reorganized after the devastating year 2018. New fire trucks were purchased, which have up to 5000 liters of water on board, forest firebreaks were cut at neuralgic points. Now firefighters from Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin have also arrived, they now support and help fight the fire.

Until Sunday evening, about 1400 forces were in action, more were expected. The aid organizations are also on standby. Everything is well-rehearsed. "A lot has happened there in recent years," says Minister President Woidke as well. "But of course it only helps where we can really get up on the surface."

What the head of government is referring to is the old munitions lying around in Brandenburg's forests. Also World War II ammunition, but above all, numerous areas were used for military purposes by the Soviets and the GDR. Since Friday evening, there have been detonations in the burning forest near Treuenbrietzen. "I cannot justify that a helper may go into an area where he can be injured or in the worst case even killed by exploding ammunition," Woidke said.

That's the main problem in the area surrounding Berlin, he says: "There are tens of thousands of munitions-laden hectares of land here." Although Brandenburg has a sophisticated, technically highly equipped forest fire monitoring system, it's of no use "if you can't get onto the land and fight the forest fire when it's still a small fire," Woidke says. A small fire can turn into a large fire in a very short time - and threaten villages and towns.

The German Armed Forces are also helping with several helicopters that fetch water from the surrounding lakes and drop it over the sources of the fires. This is often the only chance against the flames. Woidke is joined on the scene in Treuenbrietzen by Major General Carsten Breuer, commander of the Bundeswehr's Territorial Tasks Command in Berlin.

"We are currently deployed here with around 40 soldiers," Breuer said. Above all, he said, it's important to make Bundeswehr technology available. "We had three CH53s - the big helicopters with 5,000-liter water tanks underneath - in action today throughout the day," the major general said. In the evening, the fourth helicopter arrived. That helps especially in such a volatile situation, where the fire changes directions quickly, Breuer says. The number of helicopters will be increased to seven more on Monday, he said.

"At the same time, we also have two armored engineer vehicles in operation," Breuer says. These could, for example, push firebreaks. Under certain conditions, they could also drive into the munitions-laden area. "The soldiers who are inside are protected by the armor."

The people of Brandenburg are happy about the emergency aid. But it was not easy to get, as Interior Minister Stübgen reveals in the evening on RBB. The city of Treuenbrietzen and the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark had already requested helicopters on Friday to fight the fires, he says. Help was requested "early on," he says. "The problem was that all helicopters are currently in Bavaria because of the security of the G7 summit."

Referring to the rising number of forest fires and the severe drought in Brandenburg, Stübgen said, "We'll probably have to do better, but it's going to cost a lot of money."The wildfire situation was announced, he said. "We had a virtually rainless March and rain in May and June that wasn't enough to soak the ground. What we would need is prolonged overland rain," Stübgen says. If the amount of precipitation does not increase significantly, there is a danger "that we will have an extremely dangerous summer of forest fires in Brandenburg." The state and federal governments would have to find solutions for this - after four very dry summers in Brandenburg.

When Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) arrived in Treuenbrietzen on Sunday evening, firefighters had already been battling flames eating through dust-dry pine forests for more than two days.Initially, 20 hectares of forest were involved, and the situation seemed to be halfway under control. By Saturday, the maximum was 60 hectares. But overnight and on Sunday, winds fanned the flames. At the end of the day, 200 hectares of forest were in flames, with Frohnsdorf, Tiefenbrunnen and Klausdorf the first villages had to be evacuated, several hundred people are affected. In the evening, the situation stabilized.

20 kilometers further north near Beelitz, on the outskirts of Potsdam and Berlin, the next two major fires. The massive clouds of smoke could be seen from the lakes all around, where the excursionists were frolicking. In the evening, the district reported that 200 hectares of forest near Beelitz were in flames. The flames leaped high, spreading rapidly. Beelitz was in a cloud of smoke, the first streets were evacuated.

"The fire is about 1 to 1.5 kilometers outside the city limits," Beelitz Mayor Bernhard Knuth said late in the afternoon. In the city hall, the crisis team compiled lists of residents. In the evening, after all, Knuth announced that the flames had not spread further for hours.

When Woidke steps in front of the press in Treuenbrietzen, he looks seriously into the cameras. For many in the area southwest of Berlin, it's déjà vu all over again. Back then, 400 hectares of forest had burned there, partly in munitions-laden territory. It's hot, and the smoke makes it hard to breathe.

Marko Köhler (SPD), the district administrator of Potsdam-Mittelmark, is standing next to Woidke. Half an hour earlier, he had ordered the evacuation of Klausdorf near Treuenbrietzen. As in 2018, when the fire came to a halt just outside the village."If I compare today to 2018, the situation is much more dangerous," Woidke says. "We have a very dramatic and also dynamic situation. The fire has become a major fire in a very short time," says the head of government. "Shifting winds and gusts that keep rekindling the fire and driving it in different directions." That makes fighting the flames insanely difficult, he adds. "We have to do everything together to control this situation so that, above all, no harm comes to people. That's why the evacuations," Woidke says.

Again and again, the helpers look up at the sky: Where is the announced rain? Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU) says there are signs of a slight easing. It is to be hoped that on Monday morning thunderstorms and much, much rain will come.The fire department was reorganized after the devastating year 2018. New fire trucks were purchased, which have up to 5000 liters of water on board, forest firebreaks were cut at neuralgic points. Now firefighters from Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin have also arrived, they now support and help fight the fire.

Until Sunday evening, about 1400 forces were in action, more were expected. The aid organizations are also on standby. Everything is well-rehearsed. "A lot has happened there in recent years," says Minister President Woidke as well. "But of course it only helps where we can really get up on the surface."

What the head of government is referring to is the old munitions lying around in Brandenburg's forests. Also World War II ammunition, but above all, numerous areas were used for military purposes by the Soviets and the GDR. Since Friday evening, there have been detonations in the burning forest near Treuenbrietzen. "I cannot justify that a helper may go into an area where he can be injured or in the worst case even killed by exploding ammunition," Woidke said.

That's the main problem in the area surrounding Berlin, he says: "There are tens of thousands of munitions-laden hectares of land here." Although Brandenburg has a sophisticated, technically highly equipped forest fire monitoring system, it's of no use "if you can't get onto the land and fight the forest fire when it's still a small fire," Woidke says. A small fire can turn into a large fire in a very short time - and threaten villages and towns.

The German Armed Forces are also helping with several helicopters that fetch water from the surrounding lakes and drop it over the sources of the fires. This is often the only chance against the flames. Woidke is joined on the scene in Treuenbrietzen by Major General Carsten Breuer, commander of the Bundeswehr's Territorial Tasks Command in Berlin.

"We are currently deployed here with around 40 soldiers," Breuer said. Above all, he said, it's important to make Bundeswehr technology available. "We had three CH53s - the big helicopters with 5,000-liter water tanks underneath - in action today throughout the day," the major general said. In the evening, the fourth helicopter arrived. That helps especially in such a volatile situation, where the fire changes directions quickly, Breuer says. The number of helicopters will be increased to seven more on Monday, he said.

"At the same time, we also have two armored engineer vehicles in operation," Breuer says. These could, for example, push firebreaks. Under certain conditions, they could also drive into the munitions-laden area. "The soldiers who are inside are protected by the armor."

The people of Brandenburg are happy about the emergency aid. But it was not easy to get, as Interior Minister Stübgen reveals in the evening on RBB. The city of Treuenbrietzen and the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark had already requested helicopters on Friday to fight the fires, he says. Help was requested "early on," he says. "The problem was that all helicopters are currently in Bavaria because of the security of the G7 summit."

Referring to the rising number of forest fires and the severe drought in Brandenburg, Stübgen said, "We'll probably have to do better, but it's going to cost a lot of money."The wildfire situation was announced, he said. "We had a virtually rainless March and rain in May and June that wasn't enough to soak the ground. What we would need is prolonged overland rain," Stübgen says. If the amount of precipitation does not increase significantly, there is a danger "that we will have an extremely dangerous summer of forest fires in Brandenburg." The state and federal governments would have to find solutions for this - after four very dry summers in Brandenburg.