Friedrich Merz visits Hürtgenwald wildfire site and links disaster to climate change
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited emergency crews in Hürtgenwald following a wildfire that burned up to 400 hectares, facing resident protests over the timing of his arrival.
Visit to the disaster zone
Chancellor Friedrich Merz travelled to the municipality of Hürtgenwald in North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday afternoon for his first public appearance since 29 July 2026. Merz met with personnel at the local fire station two days after officials declared the blaze fully extinguished. Addressing the responders, Merz praised the cooperation among regional and federal agencies, noting that millions of volunteers sustain Germany's emergency preparedness. Several local residents and farmers greeted the chancellor with whistles, boos, and vehicle horns, displaying banners criticizing his absence during active firefighting operations. Merz responded by stating that he chose to focus on the personnel involved in disaster response rather than those protesting outside.
Fire operations and unexploded ordnance
The wildfire ignited on Thursday of the previous week and spread across 300 to 400 hectares of forest in the Eifel region. Around 1,400 personnel from the fire department, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), the Bundeswehr, and forestry services deployed to contain the blaze. Operations faced distinct hazards due to unexploded Second World War ammunition buried in the ground across Hürtgenwald. Armoured recovery vehicles from the German military cleared firebreaks up to 15 metres wide, while up to 11 helicopters conducted water drops across the terrain. Flames approached within 250 metres of residential properties, prompting the evacuation of roughly 1,800 residents from the district of Gey before they were permitted to return two days later.
- Wildfire breaks out in the Hürtgenwald forest
- Emergency services declare the 400-hectare wildfire extinguished
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits Hürtgenwald fire station
- Federal Cabinet opens two-day retreat on disaster protection
Defence of visit timing
District Administrator Ralf Nolten defended the timing of the chancellor's visit, explaining that local authorities asked political leaders to stay away during the height of suppression efforts. Nolten stated that political visits during active response efforts would have distracted emergency teams from containment tasks. Merz confirmed that he held multiple telephone discussions with Nolten over the previous weekend to coordinate federal assistance before scheduling the on-site visit. State Premier Hendrik Wüst had interrupted his vacation in the Lüneburg Heath one week earlier to inspect the site. Nolten addressed the demonstrators, stating that critics should channel their efforts into volunteering for the THW, the fire service, or the Red Cross.
Without the cooperation between all of these participants, this would not have ended so smoothly.
Policy reviews and climate stance
During his address, Merz connected the intensity of forest fires directly to shifting environmental conditions and addressed climate scepticism.
I want to say to all climate change deniers: Look closely at what happened here. This is climate change. We will do everything to push back climate change, but we must also live with climate change.
The chancellor announced that the Federal Cabinet will convene on Tuesday and Wednesday to evaluate disaster management protocols and review weaknesses identified during the incident, including emergency communication networks. Merz noted that Germany will experience such incidents more frequently in the future. The Green Party had criticized the federal government for remaining silent during the initial days of the fire, while the Social Democratic Party had previously called to anchor national heat protection in the Basic Law.
