Code orange for wildfire risk declared across Flanders as authorities urge public caution
Flemish authorities have raised the nature-fire warning to code orange across Flanders amid hot, dry conditions, urging the public to avoid open flames, dispose of cigarettes carefully and, as one warning put it, "leave no children unattended" near vulnerable heath and forest areas.
Nature fires in Flanders' dry heath and forest are overwhelmingly started by people, which means a code orange warning is less a weather forecast than a direct instruction to the public. For anyone walking, cycling or picnicking in Flemish nature this week, small choices — a cigarette, a barbecue, unsupervised children playing — carry outsized consequences, and ignoring the warning risks fires that are dangerous, expensive and hard to contain.
A "code orange" nature-fire warning is the second-highest level on the Flemish fire-danger scale used to rate the risk of wildfires in heath, forest and dune landscapes. The scale runs from code green (low risk) through yellow, orange and red (extreme). The codes are issued for Flanders (Vlaanderen) during hot, dry periods; orange signals a serious, elevated risk requiring public caution, while red can trigger access restrictions to the most vulnerable natural areas. The Flemish nature and forest authorities and local emergency services manage the response.
Background
Belgium's Flemish region has experienced repeated serious nature fires during recent hot, dry summers, particularly in large heath and pine areas. The colour-coded warning system was designed to give the public a clear, escalating signal — from green to red — so that behaviour can adapt before conditions reach the extreme end of the scale.
What to do
Avoid open flames and barbecues outside designated spots, dispose of cigarettes and glass responsibly, keep children supervised in nature, and check for local access restrictions before visiting reserves until the warning is lifted.
Impact
Regional — The warning applies across Flanders and bears most heavily on fire-prone nature reserves such as heathlands, pine forests and coastal dunes, where rangers and emergency services will be on heightened alert and where access could be limited if conditions worsen.
Opposing perspectives
- Nature and forest managers
Managers of Flemish nature reserves favour early, cautious escalation of warnings and, if needed, temporary access restrictions, arguing that most nature fires are human-caused and that prevention is far cheaper and safer than fighting a blaze once heath or pine forest ignites in dry conditions.
- Recreation and tourism users
Walkers, cyclists, campers and the local tourism sector value open access to Flanders' reserves and dunes, especially in peak summer, and can be frustrated by closures; their emphasis is on clear, proportionate rules and good information so that responsible visitors are not shut out longer than the danger genuinely requires.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceHet NieuwsbladPrimary· nieuwsblad.beRetrieved 26 July 2026
