Belgium's largest recorded wildfire burns 3,000 hectares, advances toward German border

Fire breaks out in Hautes Fagnes

The largest vegetation fire ever recorded in Belgium erupted on Friday in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve, the country's largest natural reserve, located in eastern Belgium near the German border. The fire spread rapidly across areas covered by peat bogs and pine forests. By Sunday morning, approximately 3,000 hectares had been devastated, more than twice the area burned in a 2011 fire that consumed nearly 1,400 hectares, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System.

Evacuations and ground response

Shifting winds, dense smoke and the risk of flames reaching homes prompted authorities to order the preventive evacuation of approximately 600 people from areas of the localities Waimes, Sourbrodt and Buetgenbach. Tourists were also advised to leave the region. A protection line set up around the evacuated localities held on Sunday, authorities announced, but evacuees were told not to return to their homes yet. As of Sunday, no homes had been affected, though the fire remained close to populated areas and smoke levels were high, according to authorities in Liège province.

Firefighters from across Belgium, as well as from Germany and Luxembourg, are participating in the intervention alongside military personnel and farmers. The difficult terrain has hampered operations, making aerial intervention essential. In certain hard-to-reach sectors, firefighters had to let vegetation burn, concentrating resources on areas that could be defended. Local farmers joined the effort by wetting terrain to reduce the risk of flame propagation.

EU mobilises emergency aid

Belgium activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism on Saturday after requesting emergency aid. The European Union mobilised three helicopters and two aircraft specialised in firefighting, with support from Czechia, Sweden and the Netherlands. Operations were further complicated by the terrain, which made ground access difficult in several sectors.

Officials react

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said he was shocked by the speed at which the fire propagated and by the scale of the destruction. European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib described the fire as a new signal of the climate disruptions affecting the continent and drew attention to the unusual expansion of the fire season toward northern latitudes.

Heat wave and climate context

The fire erupted during Belgium's fifth heat wave of the summer, with temperatures climbing to 37 degrees Celsius in some regions. Scientists warn that human-caused climate change increases the likelihood of very hot and dry conditions that favour the rapid spread and prolonged duration of vegetation fires. The situation in Belgium fits a broader pattern of fires and extreme temperatures across Europe. The Copernicus service has warned of "extremely severe" conditions. The Belgian fire is also near another area recently affected by a large vegetation fire in western Germany, where more than 2,000 people were forced to leave their homes.