A forest fire in Germany's north-east has been declared a "major incident" after it spread to cover an area of around 800 hectares, local authorities said Monday evening.
The fire in the Elbe-Elster district of Brandenburg, south of Berlin, had spread quickly from an initial 10 hectares in the afternoon.
"This was mainly due to heavy gusts of wind, which made the firefighters' work putting out the flames considerably more difficult and in parts even impossible," the local council said in a statement.
About 200 residents from the village of Rehfeld were evacuated on Monday evening, with several hundred people in other communities nearby expecting to receive a similar order imminently.
Seven firefighters were injured during firefighting efforts, six of whom were taken to hospital. In addition, a pig farm was burnt down, killing many animals. According to the district, a total of 400 emergency personnel were involved in tackling the blaze.
Wind turbines are located in the forested area where the fire is burning. Deputy forest fire office Philipp Haase said at least one turbine is in the fire area and others are under threat.
