Hautes Fagnes wildfire brought under control after burning 3,000 hectares

Updated 24 August 2026, 12:00 CEST — HAUTES FAGNES, LIÈGE PROVINCE. Authorities have brought the wildfire that began near Baelen on 14 August under overall control after about 3,000 hectares burned, the Liège provincial authorities said in their latest operational assessment. Fire crews are continuing surveillance because heat can persist below the surface of the peat and trigger new outbreaks.

The fire started at about 13:06 on 14 August, according to the Walloon government. Driven by changing winds, it spread through dry heath, peatland and woodland in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve. A 16 August update from Liège provincial governor Hervé Jamar said northerly winds were pushing the flames towards the south-east and that the blaze was not yet under control at that stage.

Around 500 firefighters and aircraft supplied by Belgium and European partners were eventually mobilised, according to AFP’s account of the provincial response. The Service public de Wallonie said its Nature and Forest Department provided local terrain expertise, while civil protection, police, farmers and emergency zones supported operations. Difficult access and smouldering peat complicated the work.

RTBF reported on 18 August that the fire had become contained but was not yet fixed, with crews shifting towards a ground-based strategy when poor flying conditions restricted aircraft. The broadcaster placed the affected area at 3,000 hectares. Provincial authorities also reported that two firefighters treated for carbon-monoxide exposure were in stable condition.

Residents evacuated as a precaution from Sourbrodt, Küchelscheid and Leykaul were subsequently allowed home, according to provincial and local updates. Public access restrictions nevertheless remained in force across forests and reserves in the Verviers, Malmedy and Elsenborn forestry districts in the latest Walloon environment notice.

The fire is among Belgium’s most extensive in modern times. A Walloon government prevention notice records that 1,200 hectares burned in the Hautes Fagnes in April 2011, while historical records describe a roughly 4,000-hectare fire in 1911. The comparison underlines the exceptional scale of the present damage without settling its cause.

The Liège public prosecutor opened an investigation, but authorities have not established whether the ignition was accidental or deliberate. The next phase is prolonged hotspot monitoring, an assessment of ecological damage and decisions on reopening the reserve. Visitors should continue to obey closures, keep drones away from the operational area and call 112 only when they see flames or an active fire.