Numerous places in the Main-Spessart district have issued a fire ban due to the currently high risk of forest fires. The ban may not appeal to everyone, after all the dry weather also offers the ideal opportunity for barbecuing. But on open fire in some municipalities is now prohibited until further notice, more and more municipalities are following suit – in Lohr am Main there was a real argument just a few hours after the ban was announced.
According to the police in Lohr, a 37-year-old man wanted to make a barbecue in the courtyard of a house that he shared with his 52-year-old landlady. There is even a fireplace in the courtyard. But the 52-year-old did not agree with that. According to the police, during the course of the argument, the tenant pushed his landlady against a banister, insulted her and spat in her face. The 52-year-old suffered minor injuries. The woman reported the man.
Barbecuing is only possible to a limited extent due to the risk of forest fires
Because the German weather service currently indicates a “high risk of forest fire” in its forest fire risk index for almost all of Lower Franconia, many municipalities are playing it safe. They ban fire and severely restrict barbecuing. Each municipality issues its own fire ban with different specifications.
Different regulations on the ban per municipality
In some places – for example in the towns of the Marktheidenfeld administrative community – the grill may only be placed on a fireproof surface. In the city of Lohr, there is a fire ban for the entire city area, which also applies to campfires on private property. However, charcoal, gas and electric grills in private areas in urban areas are exempt from this ban. The municipality of Eußenheim and the cities of Marktheidenfeld, Karlstadt and Gemünden have also issued bans.
“One spark – and everything can be on fire”
“It’s so totally dry, especially here in the city of Karlstadt,” says Karlstadt’s Mayor Michael Hombach BR24. In conversation, he regrets that despite the “nicely laid out fire pits and barbecue areas” in Karlstadt, no fires are currently allowed to be lit there. “One spark – and everything can be on fire,” says Hombach. In the town hall, they worry about the surrounding nature: “We have nature reserves around the city of Karlstadt that are known for their dry grassland,” says the mayor. Under no circumstances should a cigarette be thrown away carelessly. Even the splinters of a broken glass bottle could possibly cause a fire.
Hobby grillers sometimes react with disappointment
For other people in the region, the ban causes astonishment and disappointment – especially when barbecuing on your own balcony or in the garden is no longer allowed. “We have a garden at home and we can grill there without having problems or trouble with the neighbors. And the kiddies are happy because that’s kind of part of it. It’s always been there,” says a senior citizen from Thüngersheim BR24.
But even if her grill is placed on a secluded lawn, the woman from Thüngersheim would not currently grill with wood: “You don’t know when an ember will fall out,” she says. A man from the Würzburg area sees the whole thing rather calmly: “We have a gas grill and it’s on tiles. That should actually work,” he says. Barbecuing is still allowed in his community.
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