Hundreds of residents have been evacuated and tourists have been told to leave as a massive wildfire continues to burn in eastern Belgium, in one of the country’s worst wildfires in recent history.
The blaze broke out on August 14 and has so far burned about 12 square miles in the High Fens, a large nature reserve. About 600 residents in the nearby municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, in the Liège province near the German border, were told to evacuate on August 15, as winds shifted and smoke spread through the area. Authorities also advised tourists to leave, while a nearby gymnasium was opened to receive evacuees.
Emergency response and international aid
Liège provincial governor Hervé Jamar said in a statement on Sunday that more than 250 emergency personnel have been deployed, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, as well as police and military officers and civil protection staff. Firefighting helicopters operated by Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands also helped.
René Dahmen, chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forest, said the fire was still spreading Sunday in an area that was difficult for crews to reach. “On the eastern flank, there’s a line at least a kilometre long where the fire is slowly advancing toward a municipal forest,” Dahmen said. “That’s the first priority now; we deployed resources last night, and the firefighters are ready, in case it gets too close.”
“The situation is extremely difficult,” Dahmen added. “We need helicopter support.”
Impact and EU assistance
Authorities said no homes had been affected as of Sunday morning, though the fire remained close to residential areas and heavy smoke persisted. They urged people to stay away from the fire zone, warning that unnecessary traffic could obstruct emergency vehicles and complicate firefighting operations.
Belgium activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive assistance from other countries, EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, who is in charge of crisis management, said on X. “The High Fens are burning. Belgium is not facing it alone,” Lahbib said. Sweden sent two water-bombing aircraft, while three helicopters — two from the Netherlands and one from the Czech Republic — were also being deployed.
Background and comparison
The fire follows weeks of unusually hot and dry weather. The High Fens’ mix of heathland and peat bogs has complicated efforts to contain the flames. Belgium was hit by another spell of intense heat this week, with temperatures reaching about 37C in parts of the country on Friday.
The blaze has far surpassed a 2011 fire that burned nearly 5.4 square miles, in the same area and was previously Belgium’s previous largest wildfire on record, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, said conditions were much worse this time. “We’re dealing with something much deeper because we have very dry soil,” he said.
