Belgium battles worst wildfire in its recent history, villages evacuated
A wildfire described as Belgium's worst in recent history has torn through a third of the High Fens nature reserve, forcing evacuations, while aircraft and crews from across Europe join the fight.
Firefighters were battling a large wildfire on Saturday that has been burning since Friday through Belgium's largest nature reserve, the High Fens. Local officials described it as the worst blaze in the country's recent history.
The fire has already consumed roughly a third of the reserve, and residents of two nearby villages were ordered to evacuate. A local gymnasium was opened to shelter those forced from their homes. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the regional authorities in Wallonia, warned there was a risk the flames could reach homes, though all available resources were being deployed to protect them.
As of Saturday afternoon, the fire remained out of control. Officials said efforts were hampered by weather conditions and the reserve's difficult terrain, a mix of bog, moorland and forest. Firefighters allowed parts of the heathland to burn simply because it was too hard to access. One firefighter told Belgian broadcaster RTBF that crews had managed to stop the fire spreading from open ground into a fir forest, but shifting winds kept the situation uncertain.
Belgium triggered the European Union's civil protection mechanism to request reinforcements. European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said two Swedish water-bombing aircraft and two helicopters, one from the Czech Republic and one from the Netherlands, were being sent to help. The fire is burning near the reserve's eastern edge, close to the border with Germany.
Fires across Europe
The Belgian blaze was one of several reported across the continent on Saturday. In Landes, south-western France, about 650 residents evacuated as a fire that began on Thursday reignited, with more than 500 firefighters now tackling it.
Wildfires have also broken out in Croatia, Spain and Serbia since Friday, following a summer of extreme heat across Europe. The EU's Copernicus climate service has confirmed western Europe just recorded its hottest June-to-July period on record.
