Firefighters have been combating a massive wildfire that ravaged a nature reserve in eastern Belgium and another on a Greek island near Athens, resulting in two fatalities on Sunday due to the hot and dry conditions exacerbating fires across various parts of Europe.
In eastern Belgium, a wildfire scorched approximately 30 square kilometers in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes), a substantial nature reserve, marking one of the most severe wildfires the country has faced in recent times. Approximately 600 residents in the neighboring municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, located in Liège province near the German border, were instructed to evacuate on Saturday as winds changed direction and smoke engulfed the area. Authorities also recommended tourists to leave, while a nearby gymnasium was set up to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that more than 250 emergency responders, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, as well as police, military personnel, and civil protection staff, have been mobilized. Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands’ firefighting helicopters were also engaged in combating the blaze.
In Greece, the coast guard confirmed that an elderly couple lost their lives outside their residence on the island of Salamina, situated west of Athens, close to where the fire originated. Over 500 individuals were rescued from the island. The fire erupted during Greece’s peak summer vacation weekend around the Aug. 15 Assumption holiday, a time when many Athenians visit nearby islands like Salamina, easily accessible from the capital’s main port of Piraeus. Several houses were damaged, and five individuals were taken to a health clinic.
A significant firefighting operation involving about 192 firefighters, 14 aircraft and helicopters, volunteer teams, and municipal water tankers was deployed to contain the blazes. Coast guard and firefighting vessels were dispatched to the island, with contingency plans made for potential sea evacuations from threatened coastal areas. Salamina was under a high wildfire risk alert on Sunday, with the cause of the fires remaining unknown.
The ongoing wildfire in Belgium has surpassed a 2011 fire that engulfed almost 14 square kilometers in the same region, previously the country’s most extensive wildfire on record, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, highlighted that conditions this time are much more severe due to extremely dry soil.
René Dahmen, chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forests, mentioned that the fire was still spreading on Sunday in a challenging-to-reach area for the crews. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin confirmed that firefighters successfully prevented the fire from spreading towards the west and the German town of Monschau. In Germany, local authorities 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. Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s crisis management commissioner, emphasized that Belgium is not facing the crisis alone. Sweden dispatched two water-bombing aircraft, while three helicopters from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic were also deployed to assist.
The fires in Europe follow an extended period of unusually hot and dry weather. The combination of heathland and peat bogs in the High Fens has complicated firefighting efforts. Belgium experienced another bout of intense heat recently, with temperatures reaching around 37 degrees Celsius in some areas.
In France, firefighters managed a wildfire in a pine forest in the Landes region without significant flare-ups overnight. Authorities estimated that around 17 square kilometers were burned, with about 650 people evacuated from their homes. In the UK, emergency crews tackled 14 wildfires in South Wales with military support, as officials warned of the persistent high risk of wildfires despite the easing heat wave. Germany reported significant progress against a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, enabling evacuated residents to return home.