Authorities issued an emergency alert via mobile app at around 4:00 a.m., urging residents to pack essential belongings and medications and head to an assistance center set up at a primary school in a neighboring village.

Unexploded ordnance complicates firefighting

Efforts to contain the blaze—which has consumed roughly 300 hectares —have been severely complicated by unexploded World War Two ordnance hidden in the rugged forest terrain, with firefighters reporting occasional detonations.

Authorities mobilise to contain blaze

Huertgenwald Mayor Stephan Cranen described the situation as critical, noting that the flames are burning roughly 300 meters from Gey and have approached a former munitions depot near Dueren.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated he is monitoring the developments closely as federal police and the Bundeswehr assist local firefighters, deploying German army tanks to clear blocked access routes through the dense forest.