Firefighters fought against a massive wildfire that ravaged a nature reserve in eastern Belgium and another on a Greek island near Athens, leading to two fatalities on Sunday due to hot and dry conditions fueling fires across Europe.
In eastern Belgium, a fire consumed approximately 30 square kilometers in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes), a significant nature reserve, marking one of the most severe wildfires in recent Belgian history. Nearly 600 residents in the neighboring municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, located near the German border in Liège province, were instructed to evacuate as winds changed direction, spreading smoke throughout the region. Authorities advised tourists to leave, and an adjacent gymnasium was opened to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, disclosed that more than 250 emergency personnel, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, along with police, military officers, and civil protection staff, were deployed to combat the blaze. Firefighting helicopters operated by Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands also provided assistance.
On a Greek island, the coast guard reported the death of an elderly couple outside their residence on Salamina Island, west of Athens, close to where a fire originated. Over 500 individuals were evacuated from the island. The fire erupted during Greece’s peak summer holiday weekend around the Aug. 15 Assumption holiday, a time when many Athenians visit nearby islands such as Salamina, easily accessible from the capital’s main port of Piraeus. Several houses were damaged, and five people were taken to a health clinic as per local reports.
The wildfire in Belgium has surpassed a 2011 fire that burned nearly 14 square kilometers in the same region, previously the country’s largest recorded wildfire. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, noted that current conditions were significantly worse due to extremely dry soil. René Dahmen, the chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forests, indicated that the fire remained active on Sunday in an area challenging for firefighting crews to access.
Interior Minister Bernard Quintin confirmed that firefighters successfully prevented the blaze from spreading towards the west and the German town of Monschau. Additionally, local authorities in Germany warned that the fire was approximately 1.5 kilometers away from the border. Farmers from both Belgium and Germany assisted by filling tanker trucks with water from a nearby lake to aid firefighters in battling the blaze.
Belgium activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive support from other countries. Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s crisis management commissioner, emphasized solidarity, stating, “The High Fens are burning. Belgium is not facing it alone.” Sweden dispatched two water-bombing aircraft, while three helicopters from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic were also mobilized for assistance.
The fire outbreaks in Europe follow weeks of unusually hot and dry weather, making firefighting efforts challenging due to the High Fens’ mix of heathland and peat bogs. Belgium experienced another wave of intense heat, with temperatures reaching around 37 degrees Celsius in some areas on Friday.
In France, authorities estimated that a wildfire in the Landes region burned a total area of 17 square kilometers, with approximately 650 evacuees. In the United Kingdom, emergency crews battled 14 wildfires in South Wales with military support, emphasizing the persistent high risk of wildfires despite the easing heat wave. Germany reported significant progress in containing a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, allowing evacuated residents to return home.
