Thunderstorm chaos in the Schwandorf district: Fire departments in constant use!

Thunderstorm chaos in the Schwandorf district: Fire departments in constant use!

On Sunday, June 15th, the Schwandorf district was hit by a violent thunderstorm front, which not only disrupted nature, but also required the local fire departments to be fully deployed. There was a wildfire in the community of Guteneck, but it was quickly brought under control thanks to the rapid intervention of the fire department. A comprehensive report by Central Bavarian highlights that the spread of the fire was successfully prevented.

But the challenges didn’t stop there. The storm front passed over several communities, especially Schmidgaden and Fensterbach. Not only wildfires were reported there, but also numerous weather-related operations that required a coordinated response. Significant operations took place especially in the districts of Schmidgaden and Trisching, as well as in Knölling and Wolfring

Operations and coordination

The district operations center (KEZ) was activated to support the emergency services on site. Twelve emergency services coordinated at the headquarters, including Julia Birner and Kilian Schmidbauer, who not only documented the operations but also ensured communication between the various units. A big thank you goes to the operational team from Schmidgaden, Trisching, Nabburg, Brudersdorf, Dürnsricht and other communities, who contributed a total of around 130 to 140 people.

A total of twelve locations were worked through, including several hot spots such as the school center and kindergarten in Schmidgaden as well as a sawmill and a car paint shop in Fensterbach. Between midnight and 6am on Monday, June 16, eleven further calls were reported due to flooding and fallen trees.

Forest fire danger in focus

The incident in the Schwandorf district almost seems like an echo of the situation in the Harz, where a major fire is currently raging on the Brocken. Loud ZDF Hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest must be secured, which are threatened by numerous forest fires. While the Schwandorf district escaped comparatively lightly during the thunderstorms thanks to targeted measures, the risk of forest fires remains a serious issue that comes to the fore more and more in the summer.

The Federal Environment Agency emphasizes that although the risk of forest fires in Germany has been reduced in recent years with better monitoring and early prevention, extreme weather conditions, as in 2018 and 2019, clearly show how quickly the situation can change. In particular, fires in more severely affected regions such as Brandenburg are causing a rethink in preventative firefighting and supporting the exchange of experiences between the different fire departments.

The Schwandorf district fire inspection expresses its gratitude for the tireless efforts of all firefighters and appeals to the population to handle fire carefully so as not to end up in unnecessary danger. Because only together, with a good knack for prevention and rapid response, can storms and fires be faced.