Evacuation of German town close to forest fire

The evacuation ordered as a wildfire spread towards a forest community in western Germany has been completed, a spokeswoman for the local authority said on Friday.

The entire district of Gey in the Hürtgen forest in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, home to around 1,800 people, had been evacuated, she said. Local officials are describing the fire as "a major incident."

Germany's NINA emergency warning app issued its highest alert level, "extreme danger," as the fire moved closer to the residential area.

The flames are now less than 300 metres from the district, Mayor Stephan Cranen said. Overnight they had been 500 metres away.

The cause of the fire is not known, and it is unclear whether more districts or municipalities will have to be evacuated. No injuries have been reported so far. The Hürtgen forest is near the Belgian border and has just under 9,000 inhabitants.

Around 300 hectares of forest is now in flames, the district said. About 300 personnel have been deployed since the fire broke out. 

The German Armed Forces, or Bundeswehr, are on site with two armoured vehicles and three firefighting helicopters are to support the operation from the air.

The fire moved closer to the homes overnight, as the winds shifted, a police spokeswoman said. Shortly before 4 am (0200 GMT), the fire brigade ordered the evacuation.