The German authorities announced, on Sunday, the evacuation of nearly 700 people near Berlin due to a fire that extended over an area of about 100 hectares, while an exceptional heat wave hits the country and parts of Europe.
A spokesman for the Potsdam region told AFP that three neighborhoods were evacuated in the city of Treuenbritzen, located In Brandenburg, around the German capital.
The fire, which broke out on Friday evening, according to local media, devoured about 100 hectares in this rural area in the vicinity of the municipality of Trewenbrietzen, where eight thousand people live.
“We are asking all residents to leave their homes” the mayor wrote on Twitter, addressing the neighborhood’s residents.
In 2018, the town had already experienced a fire which destroyed 400 hectares of forest.
The wind, which is particularly strong, accelerates the spread of the fire, according to the authorities.
