Firefighters were engaged in combatting a large wildfire that devastated a nature reserve in eastern Belgium and another on a Greek island near Athens, where two fatalities occurred due to hot and dry conditions escalating fires across parts of Europe.
In eastern Belgium, a blaze ravaged approximately 30 square kilometers in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes), a significant nature reserve, marking one of the worst wildfires in recent Belgian history. Approximately 600 residents in the neighboring municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach in Liège province, near the German border, were instructed to evacuate as winds changed direction and smoke enveloped the area. Tourists were also advised to depart, with a nearby gymnasium opened to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, disclosed that more than 250 emergency responders were deployed, including over 100 firefighters from Belgium and Germany, alongside police, military personnel, and civil protection teams. Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands’ firefighting helicopters were also involved in the firefighting efforts.
Meanwhile, in Greece, the coast guard confirmed the tragic deaths of an elderly couple outside their residence on the island of Salamina, west of Athens, where a fire originated. Over 500 individuals were rescued from the island. The fire broke out during Greece’s peak summer weekend around the Aug. 15 Assumption holiday, a popular time for Athenians to visit nearby islands like Salamina, easily accessible from Piraeus, the capital’s main port. Reports indicated property damage and five individuals being taken to a health facility.
Efforts to contain the blazes involved around 192 firefighters, 14 aircraft and helicopters, volunteer squads, and municipal water tankers. Additionally, coast guard and firefighting vessels were dispatched to Salamina, with arrangements made for potential sea evacuations from threatened coastal zones. Salamina remained under a high wildfire risk alert, with the fire’s cause not yet determined.
The wildfire currently raging in Belgium has surpassed a previous record set by a 2011 fire that scorched nearly 14 square kilometers in the same region, making it Belgium’s largest wildfire on record. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, noted the significantly worse conditions this time, citing extremely dry soil as a major factor.
René Dahmen, the chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forests, mentioned the ongoing challenge of the fire spreading in hard-to-reach areas. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin confirmed successful containment efforts to prevent the fire from advancing westward towards the German town of Monschau.
Belgium activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive assistance from other countries, with Sweden dispatching two water-bombing aircraft and the Netherlands and the Czech Republic sending three helicopters. The fires were exacerbated by weeks of unusually hot and dry weather, complicating containment efforts in the High Fens’ heathland and peat bogs.
In France, firefighters managed a wildfire in the Landes region without significant flare-ups overnight, evacuating approximately 650 individuals. The UK also faced wildfires in South Wales, with emergency crews aided by military personnel, while Germany made progress in containing a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, allowing evacuated residents to return home.
