Belgium’s biggest wildfire on record heads towards Germany
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Smoke rising from burned soil in an area affected by a wildfire near Malmedy, Belgium, on Aug 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HAUTES FAGNES/BRUSSELS – Firefighters worked through the night to battle Belgium’s biggest wildfire on record which, by the morning of Aug 16, had burned 3,000ha of land and was heading towards the German border, the local authorities said.
The blaze in the High Fens, a nature reserve in the east of the country, has been burning since Aug 14, and firefighters from across Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg have sought to contain it, as have the army and farmers.
Responders on Aug 16 were focused on the front line of the fire moving towards Germany and were hopeful that cooler, more humid weather would support efforts to contain it, Stephanie Ernoux, spokesperson for the administration of the Belgian region of Wallonia, told Reuters.
The fire is more than double the size of a blaze in 2011 that burned close to 1,400ha, data from the European Forest Fire Information System showed.
The German town of Monschau, near the Belgium border, said on Aug 16 the fire was not expected to spread to German territory but significant smoke pollution was likely. “It has therefore been decided to advise residents in the areas close to the border to leave these areas,” a statement on its website said.
The EU deployed three helicopters and two water bomber aircraft from around Europe on Aug 15 after Belgium requested emergency reinforcements.
The local authorities said the defensive line protecting evacuated villages from the fire was holding on Aug 16, though residents who had been evacuated on Aug 15 were told they should not yet return to their homes.
“No homes have been affected at this stage, although the fire remains close and smoke levels are significant,” the office of the governor of Liege said in an update.
The blaze ignited as European countries, including Belgium, suffered their fifth heatwave of the summer this week.
Scientists say that human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood of the hot and dry conditions that allow wildfires to spread faster and burn longer. REUTERS
