Wildfires

Record heat is stoking wildfires in Europe — and it's setting off World War II bombs

At the end of July, firefighters grappling with a forest fire southwest of Berlin were further challenged by unexploded World War II ammunition still buried there.

Firefighters had trouble getting inside a pine forest near Fichtenwalde, which is about 35km from the German capital, because of safety concerns. There were signs that some explosives had already gone off because of the fire.

The fire came within about a half-mile (almost 1km) of the village of Fichtenwald before firefighters were able to halt the flames. Because of the leftover ammunition, they employed an extinguishing tank — a tracked vehicle used by emergency responders in dangerous situations. Such tanks are sometimes built on the frame of a battle tank.

The heatwave in Germany has driven water levels so low along the Elbe River that weapons and ammunition from World War II have started to emerge. At the city of Magdeburg, the water level is just a few centimeters above the historic low measured in 1934.

In Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany, police have warned people not to touch the grenades, mines, or other weapons that have started to appear. Munitions were found in five places last week, and over the past few weeks there have been 24 such finds.