Fire brigade Olsberg saves residents: lightning strike threatens 100 years old ash!

Fire brigade Olsberg saves residents: lightning strike threatens 100 years old ash!

Straße Morgenwiese, Olsberg, Deutschland - On May 28, 2025, the Olsberg fire brigade was alerted at 4:18 p.m. to prevent an impending tree case on the Morgenwiese street. An over 100 year old ash tree, with a trunk diameter of about 120 cm, was affected by a lightning strike and was an acute danger. The tree threatened to break and fall on a residential building and an adjacent cemetery chapel. 15 emergency services immediately moved out to defuse the situation.

The members of the Gevelinghausen fire brigade group blocked the danger area for both pedestrians and for road traffic. In addition, a turntable ladder was requested to safely remove the ash. A former fireman and forest employee supported the emergency services in the assessment and advice on the procedure. The tree was removed bit by bit with a chainsaw from the aerial ladder, while larger tree trunks were cleared to the side with a forest tractor.

safe return for residents

The service duration was six hours. 20 emergency services, five vehicles and a tractor were used until 10:50 p.m. The danger could finally be successfully removed, which is why the residents were able to drive the road again and the owners of the affected house were able to return to their evacuated home. Nevertheless, the remaining trunk of the tree must be removed from a specialist company.

The incident in Olsberg is part of a larger pattern of extreme weather events that are recently worth reporting in several federal states in Germany. On May 3, 2025, there were violent storms in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony and further region. Numerous missions of the fire brigade were necessary because roofs were covered, fires were created after lightning strikes and trees overturned, which among other things significantly impaired traffic.

natural hazards and their consequences

These extreme weather conditions are not only an acute problem for the affected regions, they also raise questions about the economic consequences. The current natural hazard report of the overall association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV) shows that the German insurance industry has spent over 233 billion euros for damage caused by natural disasters over the past 50 years. This sum corresponds to about half of the federal budget for 2023.

The GDV report, which contains new statistical data on damage caused by storm, hail and lightning, illuminates the challenges that climate change brings for our society. Jörg Asmussen, General Manager of the GDV, emphasizes the urgency to face the economic effects of climate change and spoke about how these developments affect our cities and municipalities.

summarized, both the events in Olsberg and the storms in many parts of Germany illustrate that dealing with natural hazards is a constant challenge. Local firefighters and specialist companies work hand in hand to minimize the dangers and to ensure the safety of citizens.

For more information on the latest storms and their effects, you can use the detailed reports on Wetter.com The economic effects of climate change and the natural hazards are comprehensively in GDV report href = "https://www.fireworld.at/2025/29/d-feuerwehr-olsberg-faellt-ueber-jahre-alte-nach-blitzschlt/"> Fireworld .