Underground fire: Blaze in German lignite mine cannot be extinguished

Sparked by a forest fire, hardly any flames are visible above ground, yet underground it still smoulders on a former lignite site in Thuringia and could burn for years.

When a forest fire broke out at the end of June 2026 between Meuselwitz, Mumsdorf and Falkenhain in Thuringia, the fire crews did not yet suspect that the blaze would continue to burn for months.

What started as a forest fire has developed into an underground smouldering blaze.

On a former lignite mining site in Thuringia, coal-bearing deposits are still glowing. Experts now assume that it could take years before the fire is completely extinguished.

The reason lies in the nature of the area itself. In the past there was an open-cast mine here for extracting lignite .

That legacy is now proving disastrous for the ground: the remains of the former mine are making firefighting operations considerably more difficult.

Hardly any flames can still be seen above ground, but smoke continues to rise from the soil. The underground coal-rich deposits keep on smouldering.

In a smouldering fire the material does not burn with open flames, but glows slowly under low oxygen supply.

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