Belgium’s worst recorded wildfire stops short of German border after burning 3,000 hectares

Updated 18 August 2026, 09:00 CEST — HIGH FENS, LIÈGE PROVINCE: Belgian and international emergency crews stopped the country’s largest recorded wildfire from advancing towards Germany on Monday, 17 August, after it burned about 3,000 hectares of the High Fens nature reserve. Crisis-cell spokesperson Tony Hosmans told AFP that the fire had not spread further but was not yet contained, while the Associated Press reported that cooler weather and morning rain had eased conditions for hundreds of responders.

The fire started on Friday, 14 August, and expanded rapidly through dry heathland, peat and pine forest. The Associated Press reported that around 600 residents of Waimes and Bütgenbach were ordered to evacuate on Saturday as winds shifted and smoke spread. Liège provincial governor Hervé Jamar said more than 250 emergency personnel had been deployed by Sunday, including Belgian and German firefighters, police, military personnel and Civil Protection staff.

European assistance strengthened the operation. Reuters reported that the EU sent three helicopters and two water-bombing aircraft through its civil-protection mechanism, while crews from Germany and Luxembourg joined Belgian responders. King Philippe interrupted his summer holiday to visit emergency teams on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

The burned area is already more than twice the scale of the major High Fens fire of April 2011. The Walloon Public Service recorded about 1,200 hectares lost in that earlier blaze, which had been the region’s largest documented natural-area fire. The present fire has affected more than half of the 5,368-hectare state nature reserve defined in Walloon legislation.

The ecological damage extends beyond visible vegetation. Laurane Winandy, director of the University of Liège’s High Fens scientific station, told RTBF that sensitive peatland habitats and years of restoration work had been affected. The Associated Press cited a forest ranger warning that peat can continue smouldering underground for months and later produce new flare-ups.

Authorities have not announced a verified cause. Access restrictions remain essential while firefighters monitor hot spots, secure the perimeter and assess whether evacuated residents can return safely. The next official assessments will need to establish the final burned surface, damage to active raised bogs and wildlife, air-quality effects from the smoke, and the resources required for long-term restoration.