Massive Wildfires Ravage Belgium and Greece Amid Hot, Dry Conditions

Firefighters are battling significant wildfires in Belgium and Greece, driven by hot and dry conditions across Europe. In eastern Belgium, a wildfire has swept through the High Fens nature reserve, burning approximately 30 square kilometers (12 square miles). This marks one of Belgium’s most severe wildfires in recent history.

Local authorities instructed about 600 residents of Waimes and Bütgenbach in Liège province, near the German border, to evacuate as shifting winds carried smoke through the area. Evacuation orders also extended to tourists, and a gymnasium was set up to accommodate evacuees.

Liège’s provincial governor, Hervé Jamar, confirmed the deployment of over 250 emergency personnel, aided by Belgian and German firefighters, police, military officers, and civil defense staff. Firefighting helicopters from Belgium’s federal police and assistance from the Netherlands provided aerial support.

A fire truck is parked as a plume of smoke rises during a wildfire in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve in Jalhay, Belgium.

In Greece, wildfires claimed two lives on Salamina island, west of Athens. Greek firefighters recovered the bodies in Peristeria village, where high winds rapidly spread the fire. Another fire broke out in the Selini area, prompting the evacuation of beachgoers by firefighting and coast guard vessels.

The Greek fire services dispatched 260 firefighters, along with 15 ground teams, 10 aircraft, and eight helicopters to tackle the blaze. The island faced heightened wildfire risk due to nearly gale-force winds and dry conditions.

The Belgium wildfire surpassed a 2011 fire that burned nearly 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles) in the same region, previously the country’s largest on record. Spokesperson Nicolas Yernaux from the Public Service of Wallonia described much drier soil conditions this time, complicating firefighting efforts.

Rene Dahmen, a chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forest, noted the fire’s slow advance toward a municipal forest, emphasizing the priority to halt its eastern progression.

Interior Minister Bernard Quintin announced on social media that firefighters successfully prevented the fire from spreading westward and towards the German town of Monschau. Local authorities in Germany cautioned that the fire was less than 1.5 kilometers (just under a mile) from the border.

Farmers from Belgium and Germany supported firefighting efforts, filling tanker trucks with water from a nearby lake and transporting it to the fire zone.

Belgium called upon the European Union’s civil protection mechanism for international firefighting assistance. EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib stated that Belgium received support from Sweden, which sent two water-bombing aircraft, along with three helicopters dispatched from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

Weeks of unusual heat and low rainfall have exacerbated fire conditions in the High Fens, where a mix of heathland and peat bogs has posed challenges to controlling the flames. Recently, Belgium experienced another heat spell, with temperatures hitting approximately 37°C (98.6°F) in some areas on Friday.

Elsewhere in Europe, France managed a wildfire in the southwestern Landes region, with authorities reporting no significant flare-ups overnight. Evacuations affected around 650 residents. This summer, the region has contended with its third major wildfire.

The UK faced 14 wildfires in South Wales, with military support assisting emergency crews. While the heat wave is subsiding, officials warned that drought conditions persist, maintaining a high risk for wildfires. In central England’s West Midlands, fires destroyed over a dozen homes, coinciding with record temperatures reaching 38.1°C (100.6°F) on Thursday.

Progress has been made in Germany, where firefighters controlled a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, allowing approximately 2,000 residents of Gey to return. Authorities reported no open flames and established defensible barriers to prevent further spread.