Disasters & Incidents
Belgium wildfire under control after 7 days, officials say
Belgium's largest wildfire in a century was under control after a seven-day firefighting effort in the High Fens nature reserve near the German border, the local governor's office said Thursday, August 20.
The office said the fire was under control “in its entirety” and should no longer spread unless weather conditions change or other unforeseen factors arise. It said the blaze was fully contained on its western side, while operations continued to the east.
The fire grew over the weekend to about 3,000 hectares, burning peatland, pine trees and hiking trails. Firefighters brought numerous flare-ups under control overnight while strong winds affected the eastern region bordering Germany, according to the governor's office.
Around 350 firefighters and other emergency personnel remained deployed, along with farmers who have supported the operation. Seven aircraft from Germany, Norway, Belgium and Sweden were carrying out water drops in and around the burned perimeter, where ground temperatures remained extremely high, the governor's office said. Civil protection drones were expected to monitor for possible flare-ups after aircraft operations ended for the night.
Authorities have lifted all evacuation orders in the border region since Wednesday, allowing residents of several Belgian hamlets and a town on the German border to return home. Germany's firefighters were due to start withdrawing later Thursday, with Belgian firefighters, including volunteers, offsetting the drawdown.
Officials have warned that even after the fire is under control, crews may need weeks or months of soaking and dousing to prevent it from reigniting. The peatland can keep burning underground and later resurface in what is known as a “zombie fire”. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesman for the regional authorities, said earlier this week that forest workers expected monitoring of the smouldering ground fire to continue at least until the end of autumn.
Firefighters also rescued a black grouse from the heart of the fire zone. AFP reported that the bird is an endangered species, with only 14 males and four or five females remaining in Belgium.
The fire broke out for reasons still unknown in terrain made difficult by heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks. The area was hit by major fires in 1911 during a similar period of heatwaves.
The wildfire and recent heatwaves have prompted debate over whether Belgium is prepared for climate change effects. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin defended the government's response before the Belgian parliament on Thursday and said the country faced risks that were becoming more complex and potentially large-scale. He pledged a national resilience plan for climate-related threats.
Opposition parties accused the government of failing to allocate enough resources to wildfire response, noting that Belgium has no aerial firefighting capability of its own. The government rejected the criticism, saying it has invested in ground-based resources and bought helicopters for water-bombing operations, with deliveries under way.
Update
Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin defended the government's response before parliament and pledged a national resilience plan for climate-related threats.
Opposition parties accused the government of failing to allocate enough resources to wildfire response, while the government rejected the criticism.
Firefighters rescued a black grouse from the fire zone; AFP reported it is an endangered species with only 14 males and four or five females remaining in Belgium.
The governor's office said Germany's contingent of firefighters would start pulling out later Thursday, with Belgian firefighters, including volunteers, offsetting the drawdown.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 14:43:25 UTC.
Update
The local governor's office said the fire was under control in its entirety and should no longer spread unless conditions change.
Authorities said the fire was fully contained on its western side, with work continuing to the east.
About 350 firefighters and other emergency personnel remained deployed.
Seven aircraft from Germany, Norway, Belgium and Sweden were carrying out water drops around the burned perimeter.
Officials said civil protection drones would monitor for possible flare-ups after aircraft operations ended for the night.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 13:17:58 UTC.
Update
Authorities said the Belgian wildfire is now under control.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 12:21:23 UTC.
Update
Local authorities said crews brought numerous flare-ups under control overnight.
Strong winds and storm damage complicated firefighting, with downed trees, mud, poor visibility and hard-to-access trails.
Germany's contingent of firefighters was due to start pulling out Thursday, with Belgian crews expected to keep total numbers steady.
A helicopter reconnaissance mission was planned to set priorities, and improved weather was expected to allow more air support.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 08:04:03 UTC.
Update
Authorities in Belgium and Germany lifted the last remaining evacuation orders in the High Fens wildfire area.
Residents of two Belgian hamlets and people near the border in Monschau, Germany, were told they could return home.
Water-dropping helicopters and planes resumed operations after low clouds had grounded them.
Officials said new flare-ups were still appearing but were being brought under control one by one.
The local governor's office was considering whether to reduce the firefighting deployment.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 14:40:57 UTC.
Update
A crisis cell spokesman said the fire had been contained and should no longer be able to spread.
Crews worked overnight to close the last hard-to-access front closest to the German border.
The local governor's office said it remained unclear whether water-bombing aircraft grounded by low clouds could deploy.
Officials described the peat fire as able to smoulder underground and re-emerge, with drones being used to detect flare-ups.
The fire broke out on Friday for reasons still unknown in an area hit by major fires in 1911.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 10:43:39 UTC.
Update
Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans said the encircled fire was not moving towards Germany.
Authorities said crews aimed to bring the fire under control on Wednesday, August 19, if possible with aerial support.
Authorities said several flare-ups occurred overnight and the situation remained complicated.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 05:56:20 UTC.
Update
Authorities said the Belgian wildfire was encircled overnight.
Authorities said the situation remained complicated.
Source note: AFP news report published on 19 August 2026 at 05:45:10 UTC.
Update
Firefighters were heading into an all-night push Tuesday to fully encircle the High Fens wildfire.
A crisis cell spokesman said the fire should be fully encircled by the end of Tuesday, but operations would continue through the night.
Water-bombing aircraft were unable to operate at all on Tuesday because of low clouds.
Officials said no significant improvement in conditions was expected Wednesday and ground crews would continue to lead the response.
A regional spokesman said crews had one last small gap left to close.
Source note: AFP news report published on 18 August 2026 at 19:12:55 UTC.
Update
Regional government spokesperson Nicolas Yernaux said the fire was under control and contained in areas firefighters could reach.
Firefighters were close to linking the eastern and northern fronts, with about one or two kilometres left, according to Yernaux.
Two Norwegian helicopters arrived Monday night, joining aircraft from Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, but low cloud and rain repeatedly grounded air support.
Residents of Sourbrodt were allowed to return home on Monday night.
Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said it could take several weeks of soaking and dousing to prevent reignition after the fire is controlled.
The blaze is described as Belgium's largest wildfire since massive fires in the same area in 1911.
Source note: AFP news report published on 18 August 2026 at 09:12:48 UTC.
Update
Authorities said unfavourable weather was hampering air support operations on Tuesday.
Regional government spokesperson Nicolas Yernaux said crews were focusing on reinforcing eastern defences because sustained winds were blowing towards the German border.
Source note: AFP news report published on 18 August 2026 at 08:08:58 UTC.
Update
Authorities said Belgian firefighters were pushing to definitively encircle the wildfire on Tuesday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 18 August 2026 at 07:46:57 UTC.
Update
Around 30 residents were forced to evacuate their homes in Monschau on Sunday as the Belgian wildfire threatened to cross the border.
Petra and Ulrich Mertens sheltered at a community centre in Monschau with their two dogs after smoke made staying at home difficult.
Monschau fire chief Philipp Krueger said crews were preparing for strong south-westerly gusts forecast for Tuesday that could fuel the blaze.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 15:43:26 UTC.
Update
Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans said the fire had not spread further but was not yet contained.
Officials said the blaze was halted short of the German border after earlier moving toward Monschau.
Belgian King Philippe visited the fire zone Monday.
Fire officials in Monschau warned that strong winds expected Tuesday could create a new challenge.
AFP described the High Fens blaze as Belgium's largest wildfire since fires in 1911.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 August 2026 at 15:00:34 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The cause of the High Fens fire is still unknown.
Officials said the fire should no longer spread unless weather conditions change or other unforeseen factors arise.
It remains unclear how long soaking, dousing and monitoring will be needed to prevent reignition.
Source
AFP news report published on .