German authorities on Saturday said they had made progress fighting a major forest fire outside the capital Berlin, eventually lifting an evacuation order for two villages in the evening.

The fire near the town of Treuenbrietzen in the state of Brandenburg started Thursday afternoon and quickly spread through pine forests that have been dried out due to drought and an unusually hot summer.

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In the evening, Brandenburg state Interior Minister Karl-Heinz Schröter told reporters that "the situation has significantly improved."

Around 140 people who had been evacuated from the villages of Klausdorf and Tiefenbrunnen were allowed to return to their homes on Saturday evening, police said. The residents of a third evacuated village, Frohnsdorf, were allowed to return home on Friday.

Some 600 firefighters are battling the flames, which took hold of about 400 hectares (100 acres) of sparsely populated woodland after starting some 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the edge of Berlin.

Six firefighters have been injured fighting the blaze since it broke out on Thursday, authorities told news agency dpa.

Brandenburg forest fires force evacuation Villages evacuated The fires began on Thursday and soon threatened three villages in the state of Brandenburg, outside Berlin. The towns of Klausdorf and Tiefenbrunnen were evacuated, with locals either fleeing to the homes of friends and relatives or being housed in local shelters. Residents in the village of Frohnsdorf were allowed to return to their homes Friday afternoon.

Brandenburg forest fires force evacuation Scorching heat The unusually hot summer and drought in Germany meant the fire quickly spread through dried-out pine forests. Many areas have had to enforce campfire and grilling bans.

Brandenburg forest fires force evacuation Seen for miles Reports suggested that smoke from the blaze could be seen as far away as 10 kilometers (around 6 miles). Social media users in Berlin said on Friday that they woke up to the sight of smoke in the distance.

Brandenburg forest fires force evacuation Danger unabated? By Saturday, authorities said the fire had affected some 400 hectares of land and Berlin residents were told to keep their windows and doors closed to keep out smoke.The fire set off some undetonated World War II and Soviet munitions dumped in the ground, hampering firefighting efforts.

Brandenburg forest fires force evacuation Low winds help More than 500 people have had to flee the fires. Authorities said they had made some progress containing the fire with low winds coming to their aid, but the situation was unlikely to improve over the next few days.

Brandenburg forest fires force evacuation Arson suspected "We've had forest fires before, but never of this magnitude," said Mayor Michael Knappe of Treuenbrietzen, another town in the area. The cause of the fire was initially unclear, but authorities announced that "all indications" now suggest the fire could have been caused by arson.



Arson suspected

The cause of the fire was initially unclear, but authorities announced on Friday evening that "all indications" now suggest that the fire could have been caused by arson.

Raimund Engel, an official tasked with handling forest fires on behalf of Brandenburg said the wind had dropped making it easier to contain the fire.

"The fire is currently not spreading further," Engel said. "I hope the wind will not start up again," he added.

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A fire department spokesman said the situation was unlikely to improve in the next few days either, with Brandenburg firefighters predicting it will take several days to completely extinguish the large blaze.

Residents in nearby Berlin have been told to keep their windows and doors shut as smoke from the fire continues to blow towards the city.

Unexploded munitions from World War II have complicated firefighting efforts with the fire causing some of them to go off.

law/aw (AFP, AP, dpa)