„Das hat mich nicht überrascht“ Interview: Christophe Neff hat seit Jahren vor einer zunehmenden Waldbrandgefahr im Schwarzwald gewarnt. Dass es nun in seiner Heimat Schramberg zu einem Großbrand gekommen ist, überrascht den Vegetationswissenschaftler nicht

In the Schwarzwälder Bote interview from August 19, 2026, the geographer Christophe Neff analyzes the causes and consequences of the Tösberg wildfire in Schramberg on August 16, 2026, highlighting fire-ecological dynamics driven by vegetation structure, deadwood (critical in ignition, e.g., from lightning), steep terrain (chimney effect creating fire torches), and wind, while identifying climate change as the central driver of increasing wildfire risk in Central Europe, a threat he has long warned about; for regeneration, he cites his own research, noting that vegetation will recover naturally but not revert to the historical forests of his youth, and recommends tree species changes (fir, pubescent oak, cedar, sweet chestnut—with pubescent oak naturally present in steep areas between Schramberg and Schiltach) at selected sites, reducing deadwood near settlements, and technical upgrades like off-road fire trucks (e.g., TL-W Unimog types, analogous to France’s Camion-citerne feux de forêts), while also deeming the joint procurement of firefighting aircraft (e.g., Air Tractor) by Rottweil and Ortenaukreis districts, as done in the Harz, a worthwhile consideration.