Firefighters engaged in combatting a large wildfire that ravaged a nature reserve in eastern Belgium and another on a Greek island near Athens. The fires resulted in two fatalities on Sunday amid hot and dry conditions that have ignited blazes across Europe.
In eastern Belgium, a fire consumed approximately 30 square kilometers in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes), marking one of the most severe wildfires in the country’s recent history. Over 600 residents in the nearby municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, located in Liège province near the German border, were instructed to evacuate as winds changed direction, spreading smoke throughout the area. Authorities recommended tourists to leave, and a nearby gymnasium was opened to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, revealed that more than 250 emergency personnel were deployed, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, along with police, military officers, and civil protection staff. Firefighting helicopters operated by Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands also provided assistance.
In Greece, the coast guard reported the deaths of an elderly couple outside their home on the island of Salamina, situated west of Athens, close to where the fire originated. More than 500 individuals were rescued from the island. The fire erupted during Greece’s peak summer weekend around the Aug. 15 Assumption holiday, a period when numerous Athenians visit nearby islands such as Salamina, easily accessible from the capital’s main port of Piraeus. The blaze caused damage to houses, and five individuals were transported to a health facility, as per local reports.
Approximately 192 firefighters, 14 aircraft and helicopters, volunteer teams, and municipal water tankers were mobilized to contain the fires. Coast guard and firefighting vessels were dispatched to the island, with preparations made for potential sea evacuations from coastal areas under threat. Salamina was under a high wildfire risk warning, and the cause of the fires remains unknown.
The ongoing blaze in Belgium has surpassed a 2011 fire that burned nearly 14 square kilometers in the same region, previously the country’s largest wildfire on record, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, stated that the current conditions are significantly worse due to extremely dry soil.
René Dahmen, chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forests, mentioned that the fire was still spreading in an area challenging for firefighting crews to access. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin confirmed that firefighters successfully prevented the fire from advancing toward the west and the German town of Monschau. Local authorities in Germany cautioned that the fire was approximately 1.5 kilometers from the border.
Belgium activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive aid from other countries. Sweden dispatched two water-bombing aircraft, while three helicopters from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic were also deployed. The fires come after a period of exceptionally hot and dry weather, complicating firefighting efforts in the High Fens’ heathland and peat bog terrain.
In France, firefighters managing a wildfire in a pine forest in the southwestern Landes region reported no major flare-ups overnight. The total burned area was estimated at 17 square kilometers, leading to the evacuation of around 650 individuals. It was the third significant wildfire in the vast pine forests of southwestern France this summer, following two others in late July.
Emergency crews in the United Kingdom were combatting 14 wildfires in South Wales with military support. Officials warned that despite the easing heat wave, the risk of wildfires remained high due to drought conditions. In central England, fires destroyed over a dozen homes in the West Midlands as the region experienced its hottest day of the year, with temperatures reaching 38.1 C.
In Germany, firefighters made substantial progress against a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, allowing around 2,000 evacuated residents of Gey to return home. Authorities confirmed no open flames on Sunday, with crews establishing a cleared cordon around the affected area to prevent further spread of the fire.
