Film Premiere, Discussion

Wildfires are getting out of control with increasing frequency in Europe. In 2025, more than one million hectares of forest burned. Even modern technology is reaching its limits. How will we live with fire in the future?

This year, too, severe wildfires ravaged the landscape in Spain, France, Greece, and Italy. Even in the Belgian-German border region of the High Fens, thousands of hectares of forests and moorlands were engulfed in flames.
More than 90 percent of all wildfires are caused by humans. Extreme heat, drought, and dry soil exacerbate the risk of fire. How can we learn not only to fight fires, but also to adapt and live with them? What preventive measures are truly effective in stopping extreme fires? Anyone who wants to fight fires must first be able to interpret the wind, terrain, and vegetation. But effective fire ecology begins much earlier—before extreme fires even occur.

Following the documentary “Wildfires: Living with Fire” (44 min.), Gregor Steinbrenner discusses with a fire ecologist, meteorologist Özden Terli, and filmmaker Julia Kaulbars what steps policymakers, scientists, and society must take now.

Featuring: T.B.A., Özden Terli, Julia Kaulbars

Host: Gregor Steinbrenner, ZDF/3sat

In cooperation with ZDF/Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Mainz