Firefighters fought a massive wildfire that swept through a nature reserve in eastern Belgium and another on a Greek island near Athens, where two individuals lost their lives on Sunday due to hot and dry conditions fueling fires across parts of Europe.
In eastern Belgium, a fire consumed approximately 30 square kilometers in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes), a substantial nature reserve, marking one of the country’s most severe wildfires in recent memory. Around 600 residents in the nearby municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, in Liège province near the German border, were instructed to evacuate on Saturday as winds changed direction and smoke enveloped the area. Authorities recommended tourists also leave, while a nearby gymnasium was prepared to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, reported on Sunday that more than 250 emergency personnel, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, as well as police, military officers, and civil protection staff, had been mobilized. Firefighting helicopters operated by Belgium’s federal police and the Netherlands provided assistance.
On the Greek island of Salamina, the coast guard confirmed the death of an elderly couple outside their home near where a fire broke out. Over 500 individuals were evacuated from the island. The fire erupted during Greece’s peak summer holiday weekend around the Aug. 15 Assumption holiday, drawing many Athenians to nearby islands like Salamina, easily accessible from Piraeus, the capital’s main port. Reports indicated damaged houses and five individuals taken to a health clinic.
Approximately 192 firefighters, 14 aircraft and helicopters, volunteer crews, and municipal water tankers were deployed to combat the blazes. Coast guard and firefighting vessels were dispatched to the island, with preparations in place for potential sea evacuations from threatened coastal areas. Salamina was placed under a high wildfire risk warning on Sunday, with the cause of the fires yet to be determined.
The ongoing wildfire in Belgium has exceeded a 2011 fire that ravaged nearly 14 square kilometers in the same area, previously the country’s largest wildfire on record, as per data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, emphasized the challenging conditions this time, citing very dry soil as a significant factor.
René Dahmen, chief engineer at the Department of Nature and Forests, highlighted on Sunday that the fire continued to spread in an area difficult for crews to access. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin stated on social media that firefighters successfully prevented the blaze from advancing towards the west and the German town of Monschau. Local German authorities warned on Sunday that the fire was approximately 1.5 kilometers from the border.
Belgium activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive assistance from other countries, as confirmed by Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s commissioner for crisis management. Lahbib noted the solidarity in the firefighting efforts, with Sweden sending two water-bombing aircraft and additional helicopters from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic being deployed to aid in controlling the fires.
The wildfires were exacerbated by weeks of unusually hot and dry weather, complicating containment efforts in the High Fens’ heathland and peat bogs. Belgium faced another heatwave with temperatures reaching about 37 C in certain areas on Friday.
In France, authorities estimated that a wildfire in the southwestern Landes region burned approximately 17 square kilometers, leading to the evacuation of around 650 individuals. This marked the third significant wildfire in the vast pine forests of southwestern France this summer. In the United Kingdom, emergency crews combated 14 wildfires in South Wales with military support, emphasizing the persistent high risk of wildfires despite the easing heatwave.