Record wildfire scorches 2,000 hectares in Belgium

Belgium’s largest wildfire on record has burned around 2,000 hectares in the High Fens, forcing 600 people to evacuate. Strong winds hindered firefighting efforts as authorities deployed helicopters, military vehicles and sought European Union assistance to contain the uncontrolled blaze 

Brussels: Belgium’s largest wildfire on record had scorched about 2,000 hectares of vegetation in the High Fens area of eastern Belgium by Saturday evening, according to local authorities. The Walloon Public Service confirmed that the blaze had set a national record for the largest area burned by a wildfire.

Firefighting operations continued nearly 30 hours after the blaze broke out at around 2 p.m. Friday, reports Xinhua news agency. Around 600 people have been evacuated from nearby communities, according to local media. About 500 residents of Sourbrodt, in the municipality of Waimes, were evacuated as a precaution, along with around 100 people in Butgenbach.

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The evacuation orders covered 15 streets in Sourbrodt and seven in Butgenbach. International assistance was being mobilised under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, with two Dutch military helicopters, a Czech firefighting helicopter and two Swedish firefighting aircraft being deployed to support efforts to contain the blaze. Local authorities said winds were hampering firefighting operations and could further fuel the spread of the fire.

Earlier Belgium has requested the activation of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism for additional firefighting assistance. One helicopter and two firefighting aircraft from the EU fleet were on their way to Belgium on Saturday.

The fire remained out of control on Saturday afternoon. Belgian authorities deployed three helicopters, while the military sent three Panther firefighting vehicles to reinforce operations on the ground.

Authorities in Waimes municipality, south of the High Fens, asked residents of Sourbrodt to prepare for a possible evacuation, telling them they did not need to leave their homes for the time being. The mayors of Waimes and Jalhay described the blaze as the worst fire in Belgian history, according to local media.