Firefighters have been combating a massive wildfire that ravaged a nature reserve in eastern Belgium and another on a Greek island near Athens, where two individuals lost their lives on Sunday due to hot and dry conditions igniting fires across parts of 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 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 on Saturday as winds changed direction, spreading smoke throughout the region. Tourists were advised to leave, and a nearby gymnasium was opened to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, announced on Sunday that over 250 emergency personnel, including more than 100 Belgian and German firefighters, as well as police, military officers, and civil protection staff, had been mobilized to combat the blaze. Firefighting helicopters operated by Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands also provided assistance.
In Greece, the coast guard reported that an elderly couple perished outside their home on the island of Salamina, located west of Athens, near the origin of a fire. The blaze erupted during Greece’s peak summer holiday weekend around the Aug. 15 Assumption holiday, drawing many Athenians to nearby islands like Salamina, conveniently accessible from the capital’s main port of Piraeus. Several houses were damaged, and five individuals were transported to a health clinic, as per local reports.
Around 192 firefighters, 14 aircraft and helicopters, volunteer crews, and municipal water tankers were dispatched to contain the fires. Coast guard and firefighting vessels were deployed to the island, with preparations made for potential sea evacuations from coastal areas under threat. Salamina was under a high wildfire risk warning on Sunday, with the cause of the fires remaining unknown.
The ongoing blaze in Belgium has surpassed a 2011 fire that scorched nearly 14 square kilometers in the same region, previously holding the record as the country’s largest wildfire, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, noted that conditions were notably severe this time due to extremely dry soil.
René Dahmen, chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forests, mentioned that the fire continued to spread on Sunday in a challenging-to-access area for firefighting crews. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin confirmed on social media that firefighters successfully prevented the blaze from advancing towards the west and the German town of Monschau. Local authorities in Germany alerted that the fire was approximately 1.5 kilometers away from the border.
Belgium activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive aid from other countries, with Sweden sending two water-bombing aircraft and three helicopters (two from the Netherlands and one from the Czech Republic) being deployed. The fires in Europe come after a period of unusually hot and dry weather, posing challenges for firefighters due to the High Fens’ mix of heathland and peat bogs.
In France, firefighters managing a wildfire in the southwestern Landes region reported no major flare-ups overnight. Around 650 individuals were evacuated from their homes as authorities estimated the burned area at 17 square kilometers. The UK saw emergency crews combatting 14 wildfires in South Wales with military support, emphasizing the continued high risk of wildfires due to drought conditions despite the easing heat wave. In Germany, firefighters made significant headway against a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, allowing evacuated residents to return home as they contained the blaze effectively.