Forest fire in the High Fens does not advance any further towards the German border

Dusseldorf. The fire in the Hohes Venn nature reserve is no longer advancing towards the German border. Light rain, no wind and high humidity played into the hands of the emergency services. “This is good for us,” said a fire department spokesman in the operations control center in Kalterherberg, a district of Monschau. With an area of ​​around 3,000 hectares, it is the largest forest fire in the history of Belgium.

The fire had advanced within 300 meters of the German border. There were also fears at times that the wind would pick up, turn unfavorably and drive the flames towards Germany. The houses in the villages of Ruitzhof and Geisberg with around 30 residents were evacuated on Sunday evening around 10 p.m.

The fire fighters hope to be able to save the houses: meadows between the fire and the houses have been completely soaked with water in the past few hours. At around 4 p.m. on Sunday the request came from Belgium to help fight the fire. The operation had already been prepared.