Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about Germany on Friday, August 14, 2026:
- A wildfire near the Belgian border has forced around 1,800 people to leave their homes
- Flames burned within 400 meters of one village
- Amid high temperatures, farmers say drought could badly damage grain, potato, vegetable and feed crop harvests
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Skip next section Hürtgenwald smoke can be seen, and scented, from Bonn area08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Hürtgenwald smoke can be seen, and scented, from Bonn area
The plume of smoke from the Hürtgenwald, some 60 kilometers (around 35 miles) to the west, can be seen from the Rhine River here in Bonn, and particularly the hills on its right bank.
Hikers on the Petersberg summit just to the south of the city had a clear view of the smoke on Friday.
Some residents even confused the smell of smoke for a fire much closer to home.
One woman in the western district of Endenich told local public broadcaster WDR how she had called the fire service, to tell them she had reason to believe a fire had broken out in the nearby woods in Kreuzberg.
“Then the fire department told me, no, that really is from the Hürtgenwald. The cloud is passing over Bonn,’” she told the broadcaster. “And a minute later, a warning arrived on the NINA warning app.”
NINA (the Notfall-Information und Nachrichten App) is the federal government’s emergency information and news app.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqzKSkip next section State government says fire is likely the biggest in NRW’s history08/14/2026August 14, 2026
State government says fire is likely the biggest in NRW’s history
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Agriculture Minister Silke Gorissen is visiting the area.
She said the government in Germany’s most populous state is now working on the assumption that this was the largest forest fire in the state, at least in decades if not on record.
“We at least are not aware of a forest fire that reached this size,” Gorissen said. “It could well be that it really is the biggest since our state was founded, and that shows what we’re dealing with here.”
She said she was working on the assumption that at least 200 hectares were affected but acknowledged that higher estimates were in play, saying “perhaps we’re even knocking on the door of 300.”
Gorissen told the dpa news agency that she could already see the smoke as she was approaching the scene.
“It really is a bit apocalyptic,” she said. “It’s a very imposing sight, a sad sight, seeing the forests in flame,” she said.
She praised the emergency responders and the speed with which such a large multi-force response was put together.
Gorissen also appealed to people to avoid the forests in a bid to prevent any more such fires from breaking out, saying “almost all forest fires are man-made.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqtUSkip next section IN PICTURES — Emergency services respond to Hürtgenwald wildfirePublished 08/14/2026Published August 14, 2026last updated 08/14/2026last updated August 14, 2026
IN PICTURES — Emergency services respond to Hürtgenwald wildfire
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqFvSkip next section Fire service: ‘Under no circumstances’ are residents likely to return this evening08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Fire service: ‘Under no circumstances’ are residents likely to return this evening
A firefighters’ spokesman, Peter Berndgen, has told the dpa news agency that he does not expect locals in Gey to be able to return to their homes on Friday. By his estimation, Berndgen said, “under no circumstances” was this likely.
Local politician Ralf Nolten similarly suggested the evacuation could continue, saying “we need to be able to work freely,” with clear roads to allow vehicles easy access to the area.
Berndgen said the efforts to extinguish the blaze could take days.
“We have very unfortunate conditions for fighting a forest fire today,” he said, calling it a “red flag day” — with high temperatures, high humidity and high winds all fanning the flames.
Berndgen said specialist teams were using machine saws, tanks and other equipment to try to rapidly cut trees and form a 15-meter (49-foot) containment line around the fire, seeking to deny it the fuel it needs to spread.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqXBSkip next section Where is the Hürtgenwald region of Germany?08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Where is the Hürtgenwald region of Germany?
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqDXSkip next section Merz thanks emergency services fighting Eifel wildfires08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Merz thanks emergency services fighting Eifel wildfires
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has voiced thanks to emergency services fighting the wildfires near the Dutch and Belgian borders.
“Wildfires are burning in many parts of the country. I am being continuously updated on developments,” Merz wrote in a post on social media. “Where ever it’s possible, federal police and the military are providing assistance. I thank all the emergency services for their tireless endeavors, often to the point of exhaustion.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5IqBLSkip next section WWII munitions complicate Eifel firefighting08/14/2026August 14, 2026
WWII munitions complicate Eifel firefighting
Bundeswehr forces joined in the fight against a forest fire raging in the Eifel on Friday, adding two water transport helicopter to the operation aimed at extinguishing the Hürtgenwald blaze.
Complicating matters are the numerous munitions scattered across the area since the end of the second world war.
In an effort to safely expedite access to the area, the Bundeswehr also deployed two rescue tanks to clear munitions and cut fire roads.
“The terrain is very difficult, and because of the high concentration of ammunition,” as local councilman Ralf Nolten (CDU) told Germany’s dpa news agency, “we can’t send individual firefighters in with firefighting backpacks,” said Nolten adding, “We also heard the explosions” that went off overnight.
In the fall and winter of 1944 and 1945, the Hürtgenwald was the scene of heavy fighting between US and Nazi-German troops as US tanks sought to finish their push east into Germany to end the war.
The ferocity and scale of the fighting led US soldiers stuck there waiting for reinforcements and facing entrenched German defenses to dub it “the death factory.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5IpdCSkip next section German military joins battle against Eifel wildfire08/14/2026August 14, 2026
German military joins battle against Eifel wildfire
The German military has deployed firefighting helicopters to help tackle a major forest fire in the northern Eifel region of western Germany.
Two NH90 transport helicopters took off from Fassberg in Lower Saxony on Friday morning, according to the Defense Ministry.
The helicopters are equipped with so-called Bambi Buckets, collapsible containers carried beneath the aircraft to drop water over burning areas.
Each helicopter can release around 2,000 liters (about 530 gallons) of water during a single run.
Several hundred hectares of forest are burning close to the municipality of Hürtgenwald in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The village of Gey has been evacuated after flames moved dangerously close to homes.
Germany’s military has also recently used CH-53 helicopters to help fight forest fires in France.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IoUkSkip next section Wildfire forces evacuation in western GermanyPublished 08/14/2026Published August 14, 2026last updated 08/14/2026last updated August 14, 2026
Wildfire forces evacuation in western Germany
Fire forced the evacuation of some 1,800 residents in the Hürtgenwald area of western Germany’s Eifel region Friday morning as flames, fueled by shifting winds crept within 400 meters (a quarter mile) of the village of Gey.
The village is about 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Cologne and close to the Belgian border.
Officials declared a “mass damage situation” Thursday evening before evacuations were ordered around 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) Friday morning.
Residents were told to gather only their most important possessions — above all documents and medicine — when leaving. They were also instructed to wear masks if possible due to poor air quality and those needing assistance were told to call emergency services.
An emergency shelter was set up at a nearby schoolhouse.
Hürtgenwald, located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia near the Belgian border, has an overall population of about 9,000.
Authorities say roughly 25 hectares (62 acres) of forest is currently burning there — an area equivalent to 35 soccer pitches.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IniUSkip next section Welcome to our coverage08/14/2026August 14, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from the DW newsroom in Bonn.
A wildfire has forced the evacuation of around 1,800 people in western Germany’s Eifel region.
The fire spread close to the village of Gey in the Hürtgenwald area, southwest of Cologne.
Officials ordered residents to leave early on Friday morning.
https://p.dw.com/p/5InM8Show more posts
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