The Largest Fire in Belgium's History: 3,000 Hectares Destroyed
The blaze in the Hoge Venen nature reserve is spreading toward the German border, with Belgium relying on help from the EU and neighboring countries
The blaze in the Hoge Venen nature reserve is spreading toward the German border, with Belgium relying on help from the EU and neighboring countries
Belgium is facing the largest forest fire in its recorded history, which has been burning since Friday in the Hoge Venen nature reserve in the eastern part of the country. According to data reported by Politico EU, the fire has affected around 3,000 hectares, and Belgian authorities were awaiting crucial aerial support on Sunday to contain the blaze.
According to information from the Dutch public broadcaster NOS, the fire line stretches over more than one kilometer and is still not under control. More than 250 firefighters and emergency services personnel worked through the night to extinguish the flames, the governor of Liège province reported, as the fire continues to threaten settlements near the German border.
Belgium activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism on Saturday, enabling reinforcements to arrive from several European countries. According to Euronews, helicopters and firefighting aircraft have arrived from Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. NOS reports that two Dutch Chinook helicopters arrived in Belgium on Sunday morning, and two Swedish firefighting planes were redirected from Germany, where they had been on standby.
Firefighters from Germany and Luxembourg are also on the ground. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever thanked European partners for their assistance, posting on X:
"Thank you to our European partners for the help they are providing."
Hadja Lahbib, the European Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management, told AFP that Germany and Norway could also provide aerial support in extinguishing the fire.
Firefighting efforts are hampered by the extremely dry and inaccessible terrain, where the fire is also spreading underground through peat bogs. René Damen, a representative of the forest management agency Natuur en Bos, warned that firefighting capacity has reached its limit.
"The fire is now so large that firefighting capacity is at its limit; we cannot get more capacity. And it is not easy to extinguish. In spring it goes faster because the ground is wet then."
According to NOS, the fire is spreading toward the German town of Monschau due to the wind, and an evacuation advisory for certain neighborhoods of that town remains in effect. The mayor of Malmedy, Bastin, said that 600 evacuated people cannot yet return to their homes and are being temporarily accommodated.
Politico EU notes that the last major fire in the Hoge Venen area was recorded in 1911, also fueled by a heatwave and drought. The current fire is considered the largest in Belgium's modern history, and no houses have been damaged so far, although two villages have been evacuated.
The fire in Belgium is part of a broader wave of forest fires hitting Europe this summer, marked by repeated heatwaves and drought. Firefighters in France continued to battle several fires on Sunday, including one near the Belgian border.
