The authorities of Germany have decreed on the night of this Sunday the partial evacuation of the town of Monschau, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and bordering Belgium, due to the large fire declared in the natural reserve of Haute Fagnes --the High Marshes--, which has already devastated more than 3,000 hectares.
"Due to the ongoing fire and the spread of smoke, and taking into account the weather forecasts, the emergency management team of the city of Monschau has ordered the immediate evacuation of Ruitzhof and Geisberg streets," the Town Hall of the German locality announced in a statement issued hours after indicating that there were no signs leading to order evacuations.
The council has urged, thus, the residents of the mentioned streets to "leave the area on their own," while for those who cannot stay with family and/or friends, the local authority has informed that a shelter has been set up at the Simmerath Institute, located at number 40 Walter Bachmann street.
"This shelter has emergency personnel," adds the statement which, in turn, has specified that the evolution of the fire will be evaluated "continuously."
The measure has affected, according to the German news agency DPA, at least 17 homes and up to 30 people.
Regarding the firefighting efforts, the government team of Monschau has stated that they have the support of emergency personnel from the Aachen Fire Department, a German town also bordering Belgium, as well as from the firefighters of the metropolitan region.
The fire declared in the natural reserve of Hautes Fagnes has become the second largest ever recorded in the country having devastated more than 3,000 hectares. In fact, it is getting closer to the devastating fire of 1911, also in the same region, and known as "Dante's hell," which burned nearly 4,000 hectares.