Overview
- The German Weather Service, which says some regions could reach level 5 on Thursday, reports many areas already at levels 3–4 on its five-step index that uses heat, humidity, wind and recent rain to gauge how easily fires can start and spread.
- Bavaria ordered air patrols for Friday through Sunday and local agencies from Diepholz to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern issued warnings, with Lower Austria enforcing forest fire bans that carry fines up to €7,270.
- Large fires triggered public alerts after a blaze at an Ingolstadt waste site forced temporary A9 closures through KATWARN warnings and heavy smoke from a Uetersen roof fire led to a NINA notice telling residents to keep windows shut.
- Fire crews also tackled barn and building blazes this week, including a large farm fire near Kirchhaslach with one calf lost, major roof fires in Frankfurt and Berlin, and investigations into suspected arson in Dresden and a series of hedge fires in Döbeln.
- Authorities emphasize that most ignitions start with people, so smoking and open flames are widely banned in or near forests, hot exhausts should not park on dry grass, and the danger is likely to ease only after sustained rainfall.