The forest fire in the border area of Belgium and North Rhine-Westphalia has not spread further towards Germany. The situation in the Belgian High Fens nature reserve is static and has not worsened, said the head of the fire department in Monschau, Germany, Philipp Krüger. However, strong winds and gusts from the southwest are forecast for Tuesday. This is a “completely new situation” that we are now preparing for.
Krüger said that 60 firefighters from Monschau are currently supporting their colleagues in Belgium by extinguishing fires there with hoses. This is very tiring and the staff has to be replaced regularly. Support also comes from the Bundeswehr: two NH-90 helicopters with water tanks are helping to extinguish the fire.
Evacuated residents cannot return yet
In the morning light rain brought some relief. But it wasn't enough to give the all-clear, said Monschau's non-party mayor Carmen Krämer. According to her, the fire situation in the High Fens remains unchanged. That's why the 30 or so residents of Monschau-Kalterherberg who were evacuated on Sunday cannot yet return to their homes, said Krämer.
The Eifel city is a tourist hotspot with many half-timbered houses and is also appreciated by foreign guests. The fire had recently moved within 300 meters of the German border.
One of the largest fires in Belgium's history
The situation on the Belgian side is tense. King Philippe has interrupted his vacation, the Liège public prosecutor's office has opened an arson case and the Interior Minister has asked the European Union for help.
Covering around 3,000 hectares, it is one of the largest forest fires in the history of Belgium - of all places in the High Fens, which is considered a unique raised moor and swamp landscape. The fight is particularly difficult, as Belgian fire chief Luc Burette explained on Dutch television. "The ground is made of peat and there is grass on the surface. This allows the fire to spread quickly."
So far, coordination is working well and everything can be done to put out the fire, said Belgium's Interior Minister Bernard Quintin. However, if the fire gets bigger, a national emergency would have to be declared.
Situation in the Hürtgen Forest under control
In the Hürtgenwald in the Eifel, where the largest forest fire in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia broke out at the end of last week, the signs continue to point to relaxation. “The situation in the Hürtgenwald is still under control,” said a spokeswoman for the Düren district. But there are numerous embers.
Unfortunately, the rain was just “a drop in the ocean,” said the spokeswoman. "But we'll take whatever we can get." A good 800 emergency services were still on site during the day.
Re-extinguishing work in Schramberg, Gebhardshain and Langscheid
Near Schramberg in the Rottweil district of Baden-Württemberg, up to 20 hectares were at times in flames. The impassable terrain made extinguishing work difficult. Hundreds of emergency services were on site with 80 vehicles. The fire department gave the all-clear in the afternoon.
A fire near Gebhardshain (Rhineland-Palatinate) is also under control. There was a fire on four hectares of land. According to the fire department, they are still looking for embers. Until the news on Sunday evening that the fire was under control, the Westerwald town experienced anxious hours: the flames had spread to within 20 meters of the first buildings.
In Langscheid in Rhineland-Palatinate, the situation also eased after a meadow fire. With the help of thermal imaging cameras, the emergency services are currently looking for places where individual fires could break out.
Control tours after fires in Illingen and Waldaschaff
The forest fire near Illingen in the Neunkirchen district (Saarland) is also under control. “Extensive extinguishing work is currently ongoing throughout the entire operational area,” explained a fire department spokesman. In the morning, around 380 emergency services were still on site. According to the latest information, around 18 hectares of forest and meadows were now affected. Nine emergency services were injured during the operation.
The forest and wildfire in Waldaschaff, Lower Franconia, in the Aschaffenburg district (Bavaria) has also been extinguished. However, the area remains controlled. The fire department said that around 1,000 emergency services had been involved since Saturday afternoon.
