EU sends aircraft to help tackle record wildfire in eastern Belgium
The EU deployed three helicopters and two water bombers after a wildfire in Belgium’s High Fens burned 1,600 hectares.
Sourbrodt, Belgium. The European Union deployed three helicopters and two water bomber aircraft to help fight a record wildfire in eastern Belgium after the country requested emergency reinforcements. The blaze in the High Fens had burned 1,600 hectares by early Saturday afternoon.
Fire response
The fire in the High Fens, Belgium’s largest nature reserve, has been burning since Friday. Local firefighters, farmers and the army have been working to contain it.
The aircraft deployed on Saturday came from the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands, EU Crisis Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said in a post on X.
The EU coordinates additional resources pooled from European countries when a member state requests emergency assistance.
Evacuation preparations
Local authorities told residents of Sourbrodt on Saturday to prepare for a possible evacuation. A children’s summer camp in the area was already being evacuated, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said in a post on X.
Record area burned
The fire is the largest on record in Belgium, surpassing a 2011 blaze that burned nearly 1,400 hectares, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System.
Belgium was among European countries experiencing their fifth heatwave of the summer this week. Scientists say human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood of hot and dry conditions that enable wildfires to spread faster and burn longer.
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