Firefighters were engaged in combatting a large 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 arid conditions escalating fires across parts of Europe.
The fire in eastern Belgium devastated approximately 30 square kilometers in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes), a significant nature reserve, marking one of the worst wildfires in recent Belgian history. Around 600 residents in the neighboring municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, in Liège province close to the German border, were instructed to evacuate on Saturday as winds changed direction, spreading smoke throughout the area. Authorities recommended tourists to leave as well, and a nearby gymnasium was opened to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, mentioned in a statement on Sunday that over 250 emergency personnel were mobilized, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, along with police, military officers, and civil protection staff. Firefighting helicopters from Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands also joined the efforts.
In Greece, the coast guard reported that an elderly couple perished outside their residence on the island of Salamina, west of Athens, close to where the fire originated. Over 500 individuals were rescued from the island. The blaze erupted during Greece’s peak summer holiday weekend around the Aug. 15 Assumption holiday, drawing many Athenians to nearby islands like 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.
Around 192 firefighters, 14 aircraft and helicopters, volunteer crews, and municipal water tankers were dispatched to control the fires. Coast guard and firefighting vessels were sent to the island, with contingency plans for potential sea evacuations from endangered coastal areas. Salamina was under a high wildfire risk alert on Sunday, and the cause of the fires remained unknown.
The ongoing wildfire in Belgium has exceeded a 2011 fire that charred nearly 14 square kilometers in the same area, previously the country’s largest wildfire on record, 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 worse 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 area for crews to access. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin stated on social media that firefighters successfully prevented the blaze from advancing towards the west and the German town of Monschau. Local authorities in Germany cautioned that the fire was approximately 1.5 kilometers from the border.
Belgium invoked the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive aid from other countries, confirmed by Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s commissioner overseeing crisis management. Lahbib emphasized that Belgium was not confronting the situation alone, with Sweden sending two water-bombing aircraft and three helicopters—two from the Netherlands and one from the Czech Republic—also being deployed.
The fires come after weeks of unusually hot and dry weather, complicating containment efforts in the High Fens, known for its mix of heathland and peat bogs. Belgium experienced another bout of intense heat, with temperatures reaching approximately 37 C in some regions on Friday.
In France, firefighters handling a wildfire in a pine forest in the southwestern Landes region reported no significant flare-ups overnight, with an estimated area burned at 17 square kilometers and around 650 evacuees. The United Kingdom faced 14 wildfires in South Wales, with emergency crews supported by military personnel, warning of persisting high wildfire risks despite the easing heat wave. Germany made substantial progress against a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, allowing evacuated residents to return home as open flames were extinguished and cordons established to prevent further spread.
