Müritz national park wildfire forces second evacuation of Granzin as shifting winds double burn area to 91 hectares

Evacuations resume as wind shifts

Residents of Granzin, a village of just over 100 people in the municipality of Kratzeburg, were ordered to leave their homes for the second time in two days on Tuesday evening. Police officers knocked on doors and checked whether anyone was at home, directing people to the community centre in nearby Peckatel, which was reactivated as an emergency shelter.

The fire had crept to approximately 1.4 kilometres from the village after the wind changed direction and picked up strength during the afternoon, according to a spokesperson for the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district. The neighbouring hamlet of Granziner Mühle was also evacuated.

The problem is that the wind has turned again and also freshened up a bit.

Fire doubles in size within hours

The fire, which was first reported on Monday near the observation tower on the Käflingsberg, grew explosively late on Tuesday. By the evening, the area burning or already burnt had surpassed 91 hectares, the district spokesperson said.

That has made another big jump in the last few hours.

Earlier in the day, the fire had stood at roughly 25 hectares and was moving slowly toward the western shore of Lake Müritz. The Monday evening figure had been 24 hectares, up from an initial 2,000 square metres. The situation then appeared to stabilise overnight, with the district reporting roughly 15.5 hectares on Tuesday morning and noting that the perimeter had not expanded compared with the previous evening.

Unexploded ordnance keeps firefighters at a distance

The fire is burning on a former military training area heavily contaminated with old munitions, which forces firefighters to maintain a safety cordon of 1,000 metres. Crews cannot enter the ordnance-affected terrain at all, regardless of whether fire is present, the district spokesperson explained. This means any defensive line using circular sprinklers can be set up only relatively close to Granzin itself.

Long transport routes for extinguishing water are compounding the challenge. A harvester is being used to soak the forest around the village of Speck, and "Riegelstellungen" (large garden-sprinkler-like systems that irrigate the forest floor) are being extended to create containment lines in front of Granzin, Granziner Mühle, Krienke, and Boek.

Deployment and outlook

Around 200 firefighters were on the scene by late morning on Tuesday, rising to roughly 250 by the evening. Additional personnel were being requested. District administrator Müller expects the operation to last until the weekend. A spokesperson said rain is forecast for Thursday, or more likely Friday, adding: "At least until then this will still be current."

The first evacuations had been ordered on Monday evening, when Granzin, Krienke, and Speck were cleared. Residents were permitted to return late that night as winds subsided, though the district asked them to remain in their emergency quarters if possible.

The fire will probably keep the emergency services busy until the end of the week.

This is the second large fire on a munitions-contaminated training area inside the national park within a month. At the end of June, a blaze on a different but nearby former military site burned more than 100 hectares and kept crews engaged for several days.

Public safety warnings

The police have repeatedly urged holidaymakers and residents to steer clear of the affected area. Roads into the park near Kratzeburg, Speck, and Granzin have been blocked, though the many small access points mean not every path can be guarded. The warning also applies to canoeists and other water-sports users, who are told not to traverse on foot between water bodies in the area. The national park bus is suspended because its route passes through the burn zone; rail services through Kratzeburg remain unaffected.