By Hartmut Kascha
Everything had to happen very quickly on Monday evening.
The police drove through Kölsa (Elbe-Elster) around 5 p.m., asking the residents to leave their homes. The flames have already burned down the nearby pig fattening facility (2000 breeding sows) and came threateningly close to the homesteads.
Johanna (85), Hannelore (82), Gisela (67), Erhard (67), Wolfgang (81), Ruth (81) and Adalbert (79) also got into two buses provided. “I just called to my husband: Wolfgang, don’t forget the pills,” says Ruth. The others also thought of their medication first. “They were the most important thing to us when we fled from the fire,” says Gisela.
Pensioner Wolfgang (81) was just able to tuck his Jack Russel pee (12) under his arm Photo: Silvio Bürger
Then they quickly put their vaccination and ID cards, EC and credit cards, including cell phones, in their pockets and off they went to the “guest house” in Falkenberg, three kilometers away.
DRK and THW set up camp beds there. Potato salad and sausages were served. There was tea, coffee and water. “Everything was well prepared,” says Hannelore.
The pensioners could not sleep at night. Erhard: “We thought about our houses non-stop.”
The fire roller continues to eat its way across the dry fields and forests at night Photo: Jens Berger
Then on Tuesday afternoon the all-clear: “We were able to save your property. You can go back. The evacuation has been lifted.”
Fantastic news for everyone. But especially for Hannelore: “I was born in Kölsa and have always stayed there. I wouldn’t have moved.”
