Belgium races to tame wildfire creeping towards Germany
Water-bombing aircraft and farmers' tractors joined forces to help firefighters tame Belgium's largest modern-day wildfire, which has scorched vast swathes of a hard-to-reach nature reserve near the German border.
The largest modern-day wildfire in modern Belgian history has been raging for two days near the German border within the High Fens nature reserve. The blaze has now spread over 3,000 hectares, or 7,500 acres, threatening to cross into Germany. Area firefighting chief Luc Burette warned that uncontained, the fire could leap over the border just a stone's throw away. Monschau, a German town with 12,000 residents, ordered the evacuation of two streets due to smoke and changing weather conditions.
Hundreds of Belgian firefighters and emergency workers are battling the inferno, aided by water-bombing aircraft and farmers using tractors to haul water. One of the firefighters noted, "We're hanging in there, because everyone wants this fire put out. We've really limited the damage to stop it from taking hold in the tall fir trees, but the blaze is not yet under control."
Thick yellowish smoke has blanketed a huge area, prompting the partial evacuation of two Belgian villages, with around 20 people taking refuge in a local sports hall.
Belgian authorities described the situation as still challenging, but Interior Minister Bernard Quintin stated that two of the fire fronts heading towards Jalhay and Monschau were now under control. The High Fens area has a history of massive fires, including those in 1911. The smoke has reached neighbouring Namur and even eastern France, where a department triggered an air-pollution alert.
Despite the difficulties posed by the challenging terrain of the fens, with his and peat bogs, firefighters are relying heavily on aerial assistance to bring the situation under control.
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