A burning pinwheel throws sparks into the night sky!
At Losheim am See (Saarland), a 100 meter high wind turbine is on fire. At least one rotor blade and the engine house are on fire. Glowing sparks light up the night sky – a chilling sight.
According to the police, the wind turbine inferno was reported shortly following 11 p.m. on Thursday night. Grand Operation! “We received more than 20 emergency calls,” says municipal defense leader Andreas Brausch to BILD. “Witnesses heard loud bangs and saw jets of flame.” The fire brigade alone responds with 40 forces, plus several police officers.
Because debris repeatedly fell onto the road, the adjacent L377 was completely closed. Brausch: “Wind speeds of 50 to 60 km/h make the fire even more dangerous. Debris can be thrown far as a result.”
The extinguishing work at great heights is not common for the fire brigade of the small town in Saarland, which published a photo of the burning wind turbine on Twitter. The image shows sparks swirling through the night and billowing black smoke.
Despite the distance, you can clearly see a red glow of fire glowing on the ground. At this point, burning debris may have hit the ground. “Because of the height, there is nothing we can do except let the fire burn down in a controlled manner,” says firefighter Brausch to BILD.
Twitter says that the L377 country road between Losheim and the town of Rissenthal will be closed for several hours.
The fire broke out in the Galgenberg wind farm, the cause is still unclear. There is also no information on the extent of the fire damage. It is clear that damage to wind turbines can quickly cost hundreds of thousands of euros.
Aerial photographs show that at least five wind turbines are in operation at the Galgenberg wind farm. The plants are a few hundred meters apart, grouped around a large farm.
One of the systems borders on the closed country road and mentioned farm with biogas plant. The rescuers worry: If the wind carries the sparks there, the damage might be far greater. It doesn’t look like that – at the moment. “Thank God the wind is blowing in a different direction,” says Brausch.
According to the police and fire department, no one was injured. Experts are to advise on Thursday what to do with the burned-down wind turbine.
After lightning strike Wind turbine flares up completely
