Firefighters from Belgium continue to battle a massive forest fire in a nature reserve in the east of the country. Not far from the border with Germany, in the High Fens, the flames have destroyed an area of around 30 square kilometers. This corresponds to around 4,000 football fields. Huge clouds of smoke are drifting all the way to North Rhine-Westphalia.
Around 600 residents in the nearby communities of Waimes and Bütgenbach in the province of Liège had to flee to safety. Authorities also advised tourists to leave the area.
Monschau partially evacuated
Authorities have ordered an evacuation in parts of the nearby German city of Monschau. “The current development of the fire in the High Fens requires an immediate evacuation of the following streets in Kalterherberg: Ruitzhof and Geisberg,” the city of Monschau announced on its website.
The measure was taken due to the current spread of fire and smoke and the available weather data and served “to protect the population,” the statement continued. The further development of the fire will be “continuously assessed”.
17 houses and a maximum of 30 people are affected. Emergency accommodation was set up for them in a school. Residents had previously been advised to leave their homes. The reason is possible health risks from smoke.
"If we cannot contain the fire, it could reach Germany, we are only 2.5 kilometers from the border," said local fire chief Luc Burette in Belgium in the afternoon.
German emergency services provide support in fighting the fire
The governor of Liège, Hervé Jamar, said more than 250 emergency services had been dispatched. The Belgian authorities also requested help from Germany to fight the fire. The Aachen city region announced that support has already started. The forces intended for cross-border deployment are currently being assembled.
Belgium also made use of an EU civil protection mechanism to get help from other countries, as EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib announced on X. The Netherlands sent fire-fighting helicopters and Sweden sent two fire-fighting planes.
Extinguishing work extremely difficult
A representative of the local forestry department, René Dahmen, said the fire was continuing to spread in an area where firefighters would find it difficult to reach. "The situation is extremely difficult. We need helicopter support." Fighting fires is made more difficult because the area consists of heathland and peat bog.
We are “always one step behind” the fire, said Frank Parthoens, a spokesman for the East Limburg fire department. The combination of poor visibility, difficulty breathing and unpredictable wind direction makes extinguishing the fire extremely difficult.
The fire was preceded by unusually hot and dry weather conditions in recent weeks.
SPD politician wants tougher penalties for arson
In view of possible arson as a cause of forest fires in Germany, SPD parliamentary secretary Dirk Wiese is calling for harsher penalties. In the Rheinische Post he suggested “increasing the penalty range for intentional and negligent arson.” To date, intentional arson can be punished with a prison sentence of at least one year, while negligent acts can also be punished with fines.
NRW Agriculture Minister Silke Gorißen (CDU) declared that there was evidence of arson during the large forest fire in the Hürtgen Forest. However, there is no reliable information yet. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) assumes that the large fire in the Hürtgen Forest was caused by humans. “The fire was caused by some idiot.”
