Natuurbrand trekt door de Hoge Venen terwijl hulpdiensten het grootste reservaat van België beschermen

Brandweerlieden bleven een grote natuurbrand in de Hoge Venen in het oosten van België bestrijden, nadat de vlammen zich op 14 augustus 2026 door droge heide en bosgebied hadden verspreid.

Belgium Impulse Editorial·17 August 2026·4 min read·

Goed onderbouwd· 4 primaire bronnen + 2 officiële documenten + 3 onafhankelijke nieuwsbronnen · Academische bronnen: 2 · Achtergrondbronnen: 3

In 30 seconden

De provinciale autoriteiten van Luik activeerden de provinciale noodfase terwijl meerdere diensten de brand bestreden.
Volgens de eerste raming van noodhulpfunctionarissen was ongeveer 60 hectare getroffen; de meting bleef voorlopig zolang de brand actief was.
In het door Belgium Pulse geraadpleegde materiaal hadden de autoriteiten nog geen bevestigde oorzaak van de brand bekendgemaakt.
De gewestelijke toeristische dienst omschrijft het beschermde open heidelandschap als ongeveer 5.000 hectare groot.

Who: More than 250 responders were mobilised overnight, including around 100 Belgian and German firefighters, roughly 70 police officers, about 40 military personnel, around 20

agents and other emergency workers. Wallonia's Nature and Forest Department and farmers also assisted. Public reporting reviewed by Belgium Impulse has not identified casualties, and officials have not announced a verified cause.

What: The

began around midday on Friday 14 August and expanded rapidly from an early estimate of 80 hectares to about 850 and then roughly 3,000 hectares, according to the Walloon public service figure reported by RTBF. Around 600 residents in Waimes and Bütgenbach were ordered to evacuate. Some evacuees were sheltered in a Malmedy sports hall, while some residents reportedly declined to leave.

Where: The fire is in and around the High Fens nature reserve in eastern Belgium, within Wallonia and

near the German border. By Sunday afternoon the fronts at Jalhay and Monschau were described as under control, but the overall fire was still not mastered. A fire line of about one kilometre was advancing south-east towards the Ternell nature site.

The difficult, uneven terrain prevents crews from attacking every part of the fire at close range with their usual equipment. Peat can also retain heat below the surface and create hidden hot spots after visible flames subside. Monday's weather was expected to risk complicating the work further.

Access restrictions remain part of the response. The N68 route onto the High Fens plateau was closed to the public so emergency vehicles could work, and smoke was reported as far as Namur Province. Tourism businesses and events across the affected area faced evacuations, closures, cancellations and early departures during the normally important 15 August weekend. Activities on Lake Robertville were restricted so firefighting aircraft could take on water.

Waar dit gebeurt

Bekijk op de kaart High Fens →

High Fens · 50.521, 6.103 · Openen in OpenStreetMap ↗ · Bron: Wikidata Q599193

The immediate priorities remain protecting residents and responders, containing the advancing perimeter and preventing underground hot spots from reigniting. A reliable ecological assessment can only follow once the emergency is controlled.

Who’s affectedEmergency respondersNearby communitiesHigh Fens visitorsNature reserve managers

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BBC News — Firefighters battle wildfire tearing through Belgian nature reserve

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