Germany battles multiple forest and field fires as heatwave drives evacuations and highway closures

A series of forest, field and residential fires have erupted across Germany and neighboring Austria during an intense heatwave. In Bad Kreuznach, a wildfire in a World‑War‑II munitions‑contaminated area forced the evacuation of the village Traisen (about 650 residents) and limited access to nearby mountain‑bike trails. At the Chiemsee near Übersee, a 5.5‑hectare blaze prompted the closure of the A8 autobahn and mobilised roughly 200 fire‑crews, police, the Red Cross, the mountain‑rescue service and helicopters. A field fire in Grasbrunn threatened a 13 000 m² arable plot, while small vegetation fires in Saalfeld‑Rudolstadt and the Gohrischheide (Meißen district) burned between 20 m² and 16 ha, involving up to 450 responders, armoured fire‑fighting vehicles, two water‑dropping helicopters and, in the Bad Kreuznach area, the world’s largest remote‑controlled fire‑robot “Wolf”. Residential incidents also occurred: a house fire in Homburg injured two people and required over 50 firefighters, while a roof‑collapse fire in Lauenbrück was contained by the local fire brigade. Austrian authorities reported a house fire in Timelkam and a field fire in Senftenbach, each involving multiple fire departments under extreme temperatures. Across the incidents, authorities have urged the public to keep windows closed, avoid the danger zones and refrain from discarding glass or cigarettes that could ignite dry vegetation.