How big is the wildfire risk in Belgium, and how should you prepare for a warmer climate?
Wildfires feel like a southern-European problem, but Het Nieuwsblad reports that Belgium's heaths, dunes and conifer forests are drying out for longer each summer as the climate warms.
In 30 seconds
- Het Nieuwsblad reports experts warning Belgium to prepare for the consequences of 2 to 3 degrees of warming, including higher wildfire risk.
- Risk concentrates in dry reserves: Kalmthoutse Heide, Hoge Kempen National Park, coastal dunes and the Hautes Fagnes / Hoge Venen.
- Flanders (ANB) and Wallonia (DNF) issue public fire-danger codes (yellow/orange/red) during dry periods; the KMI/IRM tracks the drought conditions behind them.
- Most Belgian nature fires are started by people — barbecues, cigarettes, campfires — not lightning.
"Natuurbranden" (nature or wildfires) are uncontrolled fires in open vegetation — heath, dune grass, peat, moor and conifer plantation — as opposed to building fires. In Belgium the risk concentrates in a handful of dry landscapes: the Kalmthoutse Heide (Antwerp), the Hoge Kempen National Park (Limburg), the coastal dunes, and the Hautes Fagnes / Hoge Venen peat plateau. Fire danger is communicated to the public through regional codes — the Agentschap Natuur en Bos (ANB) in Flanders and the Département de la Nature et des Forêts (DNF) in Wallonia — informed by drought and heat data from the Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI/IRM).
Background
Belgium's touchstone events are the large 2011 heath fire on the Kalmthoutse Heide and the spring 2020 fire in the Hautes Fagnes near the German border. Both followed dry spells and showed how quickly open heath and peat can spread flame, even in a country known for its rain.
What to do
Before a summer walk in a reserve, check the ANB (natuurenbos.be) or DNF fire code and obey any barbecue/smoking/campfire ban; stay on marked paths; report smoke or flames to 112 with your exact location; and register for BE-Alert (be-alert.be) to receive official warnings.
Impact
Regional — The exposure is heaviest in Flanders (Kalmthoutse Heide, Hoge Kempen) and in eastern Wallonia (Hautes Fagnes), where the most flammable habitats sit. Managers of these Natura 2000 reserves and the local fire zones face the most direct pressure to adapt, from firebreaks and grazing to vegetation-fire training.
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