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Firefighters from U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Fire and Emergency Services deployed June 28-29 and again July 1 for mutual aid during a major wildland fire near Traisen, close to Bad Kreuznach.

The fire broke out during a record-breaking heatwave, with regional temperatures reaching 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit). The fast-moving forest fire triggered the immediate, complete evacuation of Traisen.

The 24-hour operation brought Army assets together with local German emergency agencies. The fire was in a steep, inaccessible area next to a former munitions disposal site, where unexploded ordnance buried in the soil was detonating.

Because further detonations made direct ground-level firefighting too dangerous, USAG Rheinland-Pfalz's Hook-37 supported the "SuperWolf-HR1," a specialized robotic tactical firefighting vehicle, by providing a continuous water supply as it worked in high-risk zones.

Germany's Regional Disaster Management Agency requested mutual aid at 8:30 p.m. on June 28, about 30 hours after the wildfire began. The Baumholder Fire Alarm Communication Center coordinated the response, including an engine company from Baumholder Military Community and a 7,000-liter mobile water supply tender from Miesau Army Depot.

Twenty personnel deployed over multiple days. Crews staged at a local commercial facility before being assigned to the fire line, then worked through the night. An eight-hour work-replace-rest cycle began at 8 a.m. Monday.

Engine-52 was released early Monday morning, while the Hook-37 water tender remained on scene for direct suppression and water shuttle operations. Backfill engine companies staffed the Baumholder and Miesau fire stations.