Smoke over Schönefeld: Airport alarm because of the risk of forest fire!

Smoke over Schönefeld: Airport alarm because of the risk of forest fire!

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, dense swaths of smoke rose near the Berlin Brandenburg (BER) Airport. A grain field in Schönefeld, located in the Dahme-Spreewald district, is on fire. The exact extent of the fire is still unclear, but a large column of smoke was clearly visible from the airport. The fire brigade quickly has an eye on the fire in the Waltersdorf district, but the uncertainty about possible effects on flight operations remains. The airport itself was unavailable for a short time, which further tightened the situation. The region has been suffering from unusually low rainfall for weeks, which has significantly increased the risk of forest fires in Brandenburg. The risk of forest fire in the entire country is currently considered very high, such as rbb24 reports.

On Sunday evening, shortly after 6 p.m., the BER fire brigade was also alerted. The reason for this alarm was a smoke development on a government aircraft of the Airbus A321 type, which had previously landed with a defect in the brake system, which resulted in overheated brakes. The Federal Ministry of Defense confirmed that the machine was empty and was checked by mechanics. In this tense situation, the airport fire brigade moved out to the government with all three guards to check the brake system with a thermal imaging camera and secure the machine. These incidents not only illustrate the current risk of fire, but also the challenges that emergency services are facing in such locations. For more details about this incident, see [MAZ-Online] (https://www.maz-online.de/lokales/dahme-spreewald/schonefeld/Rauchentukung-am-flughafen-ber- Feuerwehr-feuerwehr-dbv6ij7PMT3JU5XRNKL7E.HTML).

increasing risk of forest fire in Brandenburg

The current fire events are part of a worrying trend in Brandenburg. The region has the highest forest fire rate in Germany due to its pine forests, sandy soils and the high ammunition pollution. Already in the past few years, 2023 and 2024, large areas of forest burned - approximately 770 hectares and 220 hectares. Firefighters often refer to Brandenburg as "small California" because the forest fires are difficult to contain and predict. In view of the prevailing drought and the associated increased fire risk, the state government has founded the first forest fire department center in Germany to develop innovative approaches to fire fighting, as [zdfheute] (https://www.zdfhute.de/panorama/brandenburg-waldbrand danger-100.hml) emphasizes.

Firefighters carry out regular training sessions who include the understanding of vegetation and weather conditions in order to make tactical decisions during a possible fire. The risk of developing further fires increases with the dryness. Farmers also express concerns about possible harvest losses due to the extreme conditions. While some already had to fight smaller fires, the course participants look worried about the summer of 2025, as the challenges due to climate change are becoming increasingly clear.