The EU's Civil Protection Mechanism will send helicopters and firefighters to Serbia to help tackle a massive wildfire in a northeast nature reserve. Another blaze, this one in Germany's Hürtgen Forest, has already been extinguished after around a week, but not before it damaged or destroyed around 300 to 400 hectares of forest and forced the evacuation of the nearby village of Gey at times.
Brussels Moves, People Burn
The EU response to Serbia comes through the Civil Protection Mechanism, the bloc's familiar emergency channel for managing disasters after the damage is already done. The article says the aid is aimed at supporting Serbia as it battles the blaze. That means helicopters and firefighters arriving under the EU flag while the fire itself has already done its work in a northeast nature reserve. The machinery of continental governance is very good at arriving with equipment. Less so at preventing the conditions that make these emergencies routine.
In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the site of the forest fire in the Hürtgen Forest and was met with boos and whistles from the public. He travelled to Hürtgenwald two days after the complete extinguishing of the fire, saying he had deliberately chosen to go only then so emergency crews could work undisturbed. He said he had been continuously briefed on the situation and had asked local authorities what support was needed to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible.
Merz told the crowd, "I am not impressed by those who stand there shouting. I talk to the people who are not shouting, but who are working. I talk to those who help and to those who act in the interests of the community." A firefighter from the Hürtgenwald volunteer fire brigade replied, "Those who are shouting and whistling should turn that negative energy into positive energy and become members of the fire brigade or of the THW."
Heat, Dry Soil, Armoured Vehicles
The blaze broke out during a recent heatwave and spread rapidly because of dry soils and woodland. According to North Rhine-Westphalia's agriculture ministry, around 300 to 400 hectares of forest, equivalent to roughly 420 to 560 football pitches, were damaged or destroyed. The authorities described it as the largest forest fire in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia. At the height of the operation, around 1,400 emergency personnel and about ten firefighting helicopters were deployed. Four armoured vehicles were also used to cut firebreaks and support the firefighting efforts.
That detail matters. When a forest fire needs armoured vehicles, the line between civil emergency and militarised response gets thin fast. The state rolls out helicopters, uniforms and heavy machinery, then calls it resilience. The village of Gey had to be evacuated at times, and around 1,800 people were affected. After about a week, the fire was finally extinguished completely.
Merz described the large-scale forest fire in Hürtgenwald and the High Fens as a consequence of climate change, though he did not spell out which concrete measures should follow. He said he had come to Gey above all to thank the emergency services for their efforts and commitment. Earlier, during a visit to the forest, he had seen the scale of the damage for himself.
Politics After the Ashes
The visit sparked political debate. While the forest fire was still raging, no member of the federal government was on the ground. Merz was on his summer holiday at the time, but said he was being regularly briefed on the situation. North Rhine-Westphalia's state premier Hendrik Wüst (CDU) interrupted his holiday and visited the affected area. Opposition politicians, especially from the Greens, criticised Merz's decision not to travel to the region earlier. The federal government defended the chancellor, saying he had been kept informed during his holiday and could have intervened if needed.
The whole exchange has the familiar smell of the electoral circus: leaders arrive late, defend the timing, and praise the people doing the actual work. Meanwhile, the fire has already moved through forest, village and reserve. The public gets speeches about community, the emergency crews get thanked, and the climate keeps producing the next disaster.
The issue is likely to remain relevant beyond the current forest fire. At next week's cabinet retreat, topics will include heat protection, climate adaptation and how to deal with increasingly frequent extreme weather events. The cabinet retreat at Neuhardenberg Castle is scheduled for Tuesday, 25 August, on the federal government's official calendar. The calendar keeps moving. So do the fires.