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Berlin: Firefighters have contained a wildfire in Muritz National Park in northeastern Germany.
After intensive efforts that began on Monday, the fire was contained by creating water barriers to stop the blaze from spreading. The barriers soak the ground and trees in unburned parts of the forest, creating a buffer to prevent the fire from spreading further, German authorities said.
The fire has burned about 388 hectares and was being tackled by around 370 firefighters, a spokesman for the Mecklenburg Lake District said. The fire had spread because there had been no rain so far, the spokesman said, with westerly winds further fanning the flames.
Firefighting efforts have been complicated because part of the affected area is a former military training ground that may contain unexploded ammunition. Active firefighting has therefore been limited to the eastern part of the site, while police water cannon and a specialist firefighting unit from the neighboring state of Lower Saxony were deployed to assist.
Several villages have been evacuated on multiple occasions.
