Belgium battles largest wildfire on record as EU sends aircraft

Belgium is battling its largest wildfire on record in the High Fens nature reserve, which has burned 30 square kilometers near the German border. Fueled by a severe summer heatwave, the blaze forced the evacuation of 600 residents in Waimes and Bütgenbach. Because the boggy peatland terrain prevents ground crews from accessing the flames, Belgium activated the EU civil protection mechanism. Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic have deployed water bombers and helicopters to assist over 250 emergency responders.

High Fens wildfire scale

• ▪The High Fens wildfire grew rapidly from 80 hectares on August 14, 2026, to 850 hectares on August 15, before reaching 3,000 hectares on August 16.
• ▪The High Fens wildfire, which broke out on August 14, 2026, is the largest recorded wildfire in Belgium's modern history.
• ▪A massive wildfire in the High Fens nature reserve in eastern Belgium burned approximately 30 square kilometers (3,000 hectares) of land by August 16, 2026.

EU aircraft deployment

• ▪The European Union deployed two Swedish water-bombing aircraft and three helicopters from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic to assist Belgium after the country activated the EU civil protection mechanism.
• ▪Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Interior Minister Bernard Quintin publicly thanked European partners for providing aerial and ground assistance to fight the High Fens wildfire.
• ▪EU Crisis Commissioner Hadja Lahbib coordinated the deployment of international aerial resources and characterized the record Belgian wildfire as a sign of climate upheaval.

Evacuation orders issued

• ▪The German town of Monschau, located near the Belgian border, advised residents in close proximity to the border to temporarily leave their homes due to significant smoke pollution.
• ▪Local authorities ordered the evacuation of approximately 600 residents from the Liège province municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach on August 15, 2026, due to shifting winds and heavy smoke.
• ▪Liège provincial governor Hervé Jamar deployed more than 250 emergency personnel, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, to combat the High Fens wildfire.

Challenging terrain conditions

• ▪Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, stated that firefighters had to pull back to the forest edge and allow parts of the heathland to burn because the terrain was inaccessible.
• ▪Firefighting operations in the High Fens were severely hampered by the reserve's terrain, which consists of peat bogs, heathland, and raised wooden boardwalks where heavy vehicles risk sinking.
• ▪Local Belgian and German farmers supported emergency crews by driving tractors to haul water tankers filled from Robertville lake to the edge of the fire zone.

1911 fire comparison

• ▪The 2026 High Fens wildfire is the largest in Belgium since a massive 1911 disaster that ravaged the same area of peatlands and pine forests during a similar period of extreme heat and drought.
• ▪The 2026 High Fens wildfire has far surpassed a previous major blaze in 2011 that burned nearly 14 square kilometers (1,400 hectares) in the same nature reserve.

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