The blaze scorching the Hürtgen Forest in western Germany consumed hundreds of acres of woodland. While this fire pales in comparison to the massive conflagrations that have recently ravaged parts of Europe and torched vast stretches of Canadian forest, it was still severe enough to force the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents from a nearby village. To battle the flames, authorities deployed close to 2,000 firefighters and other emergency personnel, alongside a fleet of 10 helicopters.
The local terrain presented a unique and formidable obstacle: the ground is saturated with ammunition, a lingering legacy of a significant World War II battle where the US First Army launched its offensive. The firefighting effort stretched over several days, punctuated by the sound of unexploded ordnance detonating, which prevented firefighters from safely approaching the heart of the blaze. This combination of wildfires and the peril of explosive remnants is adding a new and dangerous chapter to the catalogue of extreme weather events challenging Europe, a continent already grappling with shrinking rivers, drought-stricken crops, and strained infrastructure.
Where to begin
Last year, the state of Brandenburg invested in two remote-controlled tanks and one armored vehicle for personnel. One of these unmanned tanks is equipped with a mechanical arm and a water cannon, capable of launching water or foam up to 180 feet. The second unit is designed to till the ground and clear surface vegetation. This region, heavily forested, sits on vast tracts that once served as East German military training grounds, with nearly 20% of its land suspected to contain buried munitions. Norman Bart, a wildfire expert for the Brandenburg state government, confirmed that this equipment, costing roughly $3.5 million in total, was deployed in late July and early August to manage a forest fire near the town of Jüterbog, which had broken out on the edge of an old military training site. The system’s primary function is to grant firefighters access to zones that bomb disposal teams have yet to clear, allowing them to carve out firebreaks, douse critical areas with water, and shield key assets from the advancing flames.
Linden Pronto, a former California firefighter who now consults on wildfire issues, was instrumental in conceptualizing the Brandenburg system. He believes the escalating threat from unexploded ordnance is a clear symptom of how intensifying fire conditions worldwide are pushing existing firefighting frameworks to their limits. "The situation is shifting everywhere," he stated. "The sheer intensity of the fires is catching everyone off guard."
Pronto envisions a future where these unmanned tanks could also be deployed to other former battlefields, such as Syria or Ukraine, becoming an integral part of a comprehensive equipment strategy for hazardous terrains. Other companies are also exploring similar avenues. The startup Drone Amplified is developing drones capable of dropping spheres filled with igniting chemicals to conduct controlled burns. Meanwhile, Burnbot, based in South San Francisco, has built a large tracked vehicle equipped with multiple flame units to perform the same kind of controlled burning operations.
If these technological solutions become more widespread, a rather ironic outcome might be the emergence of a new business sector for arms manufacturers. Rheinmetall, the German defense giant, recently acquired a majority stake in DOK-ING, the company that produces the remote-controlled firefighting vehicles used by Brandenburg (whose motto is "Don't send people to do the machine's job"). Rheinmetall has been manufacturing ammunition since before World War I, meaning it is highly likely that a significant portion of the shells now buried in German soil came from its own factories.
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While the scale of wildfires in Germany is relatively small in terms of area burned, the situation is worsening. The added danger of last century's wartime relics is making the problem uniquely complex. John Goddamer, head of the Global Fire Monitoring Center, a German research consultancy, notes that prolonged periods of high heat and drought, combined with the natural aging of old munitions, dramatically increases the probability of detonation. The constant freezing and thawing of the soil also pushes old shells to the surface, much like how stones mysteriously appear in a garden bed each winter.
In the long term, managing wildfires in Germany may require a more radical transformation. Bart suggests that converting highly flammable pine forests into mixed woodlands would be beneficial, alongside accelerating the detection and removal of legacy ammunition. "It might take us a hundred years to fully resolve these hazards," Bart conceded.