The firefighting services continue to work during the night in the southeast of Belgium to try to stop the large fire declared in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve (the High Marshes). This is the second largest fire recorded in the country, which has already devastated more than 3,000 hectares and is approaching the devastating fire of 1911 in the same area, known as "Dante's hell," which burned nearly 4,000 hectares.
As warned by the Belgian Minister of the Interior, Bernard Quintin, in statements to the RTL broadcaster on Sunday night, emergency teams are facing a particularly complex situation due to the strength of the wind, whose trajectory varies constantly.
The winds are "completely unpredictable, changing direction 360 degrees in a single day." For this reason, the fire in the reserve continues to advance towards the south-southeast.
For now, firefighters have managed to stabilize only part of the perimeter, although the front heading towards the bordering German town of Monschau seems to be under control, which has allowed for the moment to rule out an evacuation. In contrast, the French department of Moselle has activated an alert system for air pollution due to the enormous wildfire.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Liège region has opened proceedings to clarify the origin of the fire, according to information released by the Belgian news agency.
The firefighters in the area have the support of the Belgian Army, which has sent six firefighting trucks and a tanker vehicle, as indicated by the Minister of Defense, Theo Francken. Reinforcements from other European countries have also arrived to face a fire of "unprecedented magnitude," in the words of Quintin.
In addition to two firefighting helicopters with large water tanks from the Netherlands, two tanker planes sent by Sweden have joined, deployed on Sunday afternoon, as noted by the Minister of the Interior on X.
"Two Swedish Air Tractor water bomber planes have been operational since this afternoon. After loading near Visé, they have already made their first drops over the fire affecting the Hautes Fagnes. Thanks to Sweden and the Swedish people for their solidarity and valuable support," he added.
Firefighters from Germany and Luxembourg have also been mobilized, local authorities have confirmed. "Along with the firefighters and Civil Protection agents, more than 100 federal and local police, with their equipment, are committed to the operations. Reinforcements and volunteers are coming to complete the device," explained the Minister of the Interior.
The complicated topography of the nature reserve poses another obstacle for the intervention teams: the lack of access roads and the presence of extensive areas of peat bogs and wetlands hinder the advance of ground resources.
Since the fire broke out on Friday, the disaster has sparked a wide solidarity response, with numerous farmers and companies in the area providing logistical and material support to the firefighters.
However, the authorities of the Belgian municipality of Bütgenbach, partially evacuated, have asked neighbors and other farmers to refrain from going to the affected area on their own initiative, noting that the disorderly arrival of aid has caused bottlenecks and complicated the work of emergency services.