<p>A large fire broke out Thursday in a popular forest in western Berlin following an explosion in a police munitions storage site, as a new heatwave enveloped Germany.</p>.<p>Firefighters have so far only been able to begin tackling two of the four fires, as the affected area of 15,000 square metres (161,500 square feet) included a storage site for police ammunition.</p>.<p>Explosions were intermittently rocking the area, including a large detonation heard by AFP at 0900 GMT.</p>.<p>No one has been hurt by the fires.</p>.<p>Berlin fire brigade has sought tanks from the army to help combat the flames, said spokesman Thomas Kirstein, adding that "we're still waiting".</p>.<p>"The fire is still not under control and is spreading further," he said, noting that the situation is "extremely extraordinary with munitions".</p>.<p>Officials are building a security cordon to allow firefighters to begin their work from around a kilometre's distance from the ammunition storage zone.</p>.<p>A police helicopter was circling the area, as authorities appealed for the public to keep away.</p>.<p>Several regional rail lines have been halted.</p>.<p>Temperatures are expected to climb as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of Germany. In Berlin, they are predicted to reach 38C.</p>.<p>Brandenburg, the region surrounding Berlin, as well as parts of eastern Germany have for days been battling forest fires.</p>.<p>Scientists say climate change is making heatwaves around the world more frequent and more intense, which increases the risk of fires.</p>.<p>After a scorching Thursday, heavy thunderstorms are due to sweep into the country from the west on Friday, the German weather service said.</p>.<p>A cold front is predicted to bring temperatures down by more than 10 degrees overnight in western Germany, falling to around 20-25 degrees on Friday.</p>
<p>A large fire broke out Thursday in a popular forest in western Berlin following an explosion in a police munitions storage site, as a new heatwave enveloped Germany.</p>.<p>Firefighters have so far only been able to begin tackling two of the four fires, as the affected area of 15,000 square metres (161,500 square feet) included a storage site for police ammunition.</p>.<p>Explosions were intermittently rocking the area, including a large detonation heard by AFP at 0900 GMT.</p>.<p>No one has been hurt by the fires.</p>.<p>Berlin fire brigade has sought tanks from the army to help combat the flames, said spokesman Thomas Kirstein, adding that "we're still waiting".</p>.<p>"The fire is still not under control and is spreading further," he said, noting that the situation is "extremely extraordinary with munitions".</p>.<p>Officials are building a security cordon to allow firefighters to begin their work from around a kilometre's distance from the ammunition storage zone.</p>.<p>A police helicopter was circling the area, as authorities appealed for the public to keep away.</p>.<p>Several regional rail lines have been halted.</p>.<p>Temperatures are expected to climb as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of Germany. In Berlin, they are predicted to reach 38C.</p>.<p>Brandenburg, the region surrounding Berlin, as well as parts of eastern Germany have for days been battling forest fires.</p>.<p>Scientists say climate change is making heatwaves around the world more frequent and more intense, which increases the risk of fires.</p>.<p>After a scorching Thursday, heavy thunderstorms are due to sweep into the country from the west on Friday, the German weather service said.</p>.<p>A cold front is predicted to bring temperatures down by more than 10 degrees overnight in western Germany, falling to around 20-25 degrees on Friday.</p>