Belgium battles largest wildfire since 1911 as 3,000 hectares burn near German border
A wildfire in Belgium's High Fens nature reserve has scorched 3,000 hectares since Friday, becoming the country's largest blaze since 1911 and prompting the evacuation of 600 people near the German border.
Fire breaks out and spreads
The wildfire broke out on Friday in the High Fens nature reserve in Belgium's Liège province, initially burning around 80 hectares. By Saturday morning, the affected area had grown to 850 hectares, and by early Sunday it had reached approximately 3,000 hectares (30 square kilometres). The blaze is the largest recorded in Belgium since 1911, when the same region was hit by wildfires during a similar period of heat and drought. Belgium's previous record fire occurred in 2011, burning 14 square kilometres of the same reserve, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
- Fire breaks out in the High Fens; initial burn around 80 hectares
- Affected area grows to 850 hectares
- About 600 people evacuated from Waimes and Bütgenbach as winds shift
- Blaze reaches approximately 3,000 hectares
- Interior Minister Quintin says two fire fronts under control after visiting crisis centre
Evacuations and cross-border impact
Shifting winds and heavy smoke prompted the evacuation of approximately 600 people on Saturday afternoon from the municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, close to the German border. About 20 of those evacuated spent the night in a local sports hall. In Germany, the town of Monschau, with 12,000 residents, advised residents of several districts to leave temporarily due to smoke. The fire front was reported at 1.8 kilometres from the first inhabited areas on the Belgian side, and Monschau said the blaze had come within about 3 kilometres of the border. No homes had been damaged as of Sunday morning, authorities said.
International response
Belgium activated the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism, bringing in aerial reinforcements from across Europe. Two water-bombing aircraft arrived from Sweden, along with helicopters from the Netherlands (two), the Czech Republic (one), and two Belgian federal police helicopters. Firefighters from Germany and Luxembourg also joined the more than 250 emergency personnel deployed. Access to Bütgenbach lake was prohibited on Sunday to allow aircraft to refill. Local farmers contributed by using tractors to pull water tankers from Lake Robertville.
- 2011 record fire
- 14 sq km
- 2026 current fire
- 30 sq km
Terrain and conditions
The High Fens landscape of peat bogs, heathland, pine forests and raised wooden walkways made ground operations particularly complex, with heavy vehicles at risk of sinking into soft ground. René Dahmen, chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forest, said the fire was still expanding through challenging terrain on Sunday.
On the eastern flank, there's a line at least a kilometer long where the fire is slowly advancing toward a municipal forest. That's the first priority now; we deployed resources last night, and the firefighters are ready, in case it gets too close.
The fragile peatland allowed fires to continue burning below the surface even after visible flames were extinguished. Belgium had just experienced another heatwave, with temperatures hitting nearly 37°C on Friday, on top of weeks with barely any rain.
Containment progress
Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said after visiting the crisis centre in Vottem on Sunday afternoon that two fire fronts, heading towards Jalhay and Monschau, were now under control, though the fire remained not fully contained overall. Firefighting chief Luc Burette warned that if the fire could not be contained, there was a risk it could spill over the German border. Fumes from the blaze reached the neighbouring Belgian province of Namur and as far as eastern France, where the Moselle department triggered an air-pollution alert.
