BRUSSELS, Aug 15 (Bernama-dpa) — Belgium has requested assistance from other European Union countries to tackle a raging wildfire in the east of the country, roughly 25 kilometres away from the German border.
Around 1,600 hectares of land has burned since the fire started on Friday afternoon close to the town of Baelen, public broadcaster RTBF wrote, reported German news agency dpa.
German firefighters have been at the site since Friday night, according to local authorities.
Additional helicopters and aircraft from the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands have been mobilised, EU Crisis Commissioner Hadja Lahbib wrote on X on Saturday.
Belgium’s civil protection agency has requested help from the country’s army, which is expected to supply firefighting vehicles from their air bases.
The wildfire is the largest in Belgium in 30 years, according to RTBF, said the BERNAMA-dpa report.
Meanwhile, the EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid in a Facebook posting cautioned of a “Fire danger forecast between 13 and August 19, 2026.
It reported that a total of 1,620 fires had taken place since the beginning of the year and a total of 554,788 hectares burnt during the period.
The government organisation that it was monitoring closely and “stand ready to assist.”
–WE