NRW is working on forest fire protection: infrastructure, special vehicles and climate-resilient forests

However, the impetus to create a NRW forest fire concept came from another, smaller fire. In 2020, 24 hectares of forest burned near Gummersbach in the Bergisches Land, not even a tenth of the current burned area. “That was a wake-up call for us back then,” says Hartwig Dolgner, who is responsible for forest fire prevention at the state agency “Forest and Wood”. The most important finding, according to Dolgner: “That we need an infrastructure for emergencies.” This included simple things such as a network of paths that can be used by fire engines. Trees would have to be cut back, fire ponds upgraded and places set up where water can be poured into large basins.

In Germany, says Dolgner, such an infrastructure can be built on the centuries-old tradition of intensive forestry. You can use paths that have been set up for the transport of wood. "And we have maps that show such transport routes. This is worth its weight in gold in the event of a fire." Overall, this infrastructure is in good condition four years after the concept was created.

But that's not enough. If the forest is on fire, it is also important that communication between forestry experts and the fire department works, says Dolgner. He puts it this way: “In a crisis, you have to know minds.” That's why we train each other. Even seemingly banal details are important: “If we announce in an alarm situation that the extinguishing pond is 800 meters behind a rumble, then the fire department should know that we call a pile of wood a pile of wood.”

But we have already made great progress in these points too. Dolgner cites the current fire in Hürtgenwald as an example of how well the fire department and foresters work together. Colleagues from the state company “Forest and Wood” were on site to advise the fire department.

Fire engine with the off-road capability of a forwarder

One of them was Maximilian Halbe, who heads the machine operation provided for the Rureifel and Jülich Börde region at “Wald und Holz”. A firefighter has only been part of Halbe's fleet for two months. This is a type of fire engine that looks less like a fire truck and more like a forwarder - the monstrous vehicle that forest workers usually use to transport entire tree trunks. But the firefighter is not hauling wood, but rather a 10,000 liter tank.

It is controlled by forestry staff, “because we foresters are familiar with the skid trails,” says Halbe. Back alleys are the aisles off the path through which no fire engine can get through. The firefighter had his first mission in the Eifel National Park at the beginning of August. And even then we could see “that this was a sensible investment,” says Halbe. This has now been confirmed in the Hürtgen Forest, where the terrain is very rugged. “This vehicle could handle the steepest slopes.”

The first NRW firefighter was also called in for this operation, which was purchased in 2022 and is normally stationed in the Sauerland. The NRW Ministry of Agriculture announced when asked by WELT AM SONNTAG that there are currently no plans to purchase additional firefighters, costing 130,000 euros. However, it is conceivable to “make agreements with independent forestry companies to equip their forwarding vehicles so that they can also drive the large water tanks to the operational area.” This is currently being examined.

Camera surveillance, infrastructure, special vehicles – that’s one thing. The other task, says forestry expert Hartwig Dolgner, is to create “climate-resilient forests”. Away from conifers and towards more mixed and deciduous forests. "This also helps us prevent forest fires. Deciduous forests do not burn as quickly as coniferous forests." The state company “Forest and Wood” has been working on this topic for years anyway. Storm damage and the death of spruce forests in recent years caused by hot summers and bark beetles have made it necessary to rethink forestry.

In principle, says Eberhard Freiherr von Wrede, there is nothing wrong with this. Von Wrede is the chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalia Forest Farmers' Association; he represents the interests of around 150,000 private forest owners, who own around 63 percent of the North Rhine-Westphalia forest, almost two thirds. More than in any other federal state. So anyone who talks about fire protection and forest conversion in North Rhine-Westphalia must talk about the problems of private forest owners, says von Wrede. The damage in recent years has meant that “many people have lost their fun”. When he hears that the infrastructure for fire protection needs to be improved, he asks: “How am I supposed to maintain paths if I no longer earn anything in the forest?” And softwoods are the main sources of money.

Von Wrede also complains about a “discontinuity” in the state’s funding policy. Sometimes there are grants for upgrading paths, sometimes not. In the now heated discussion, he also lacks any indication that the conversion to a near-natural forest also entails risks. Dead wood that should be left in the forest to protect biodiversity increases the fire load. And weedy bare areas that have been left to their own devices after bark beetle infestation are the best breeding ground for the spread of fire.

Von Wrede mentions another aspect. “We know,” he says, “that 99 percent of forest fires are caused by humans.” A discarded cigarette, a fire basket behind the motorhome, deliberate arson - these are usually the causes. “But why don’t politicians consider closing the paths at certain levels of forest fire danger?” The state forestry law makes such a ban on entry possible. “But politicians don’t talk about it.” For fear of making yourself unpopular.