Firefighters push to ‘encircle’ Belgian wildfire
Firefighters in Belgium are working to contain a massive wildfire in the High Fens nature reserve, which has grown to 3,000 hectares. Adverse weather conditions, including wind and low clouds, have hindered aerial firefighting efforts.
Why it matters
Large-scale wildfires in historically temperate regions underscore the growing threat of environmental disasters and the challenges of cross-border emergency response.
Firefighters launched a potentially decisive push Tuesday (August 18, 2026) to encircle Belgium’s largest wildfire in a century, despite wind and rain hampering air support operations over the High Fens nature reserve.
The blaze charring the vast expanse of boggy peatlands, pine trees and hiking trails grew over the weekend to half the size of Manhattan, 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres), with hundreds of firefighters working night and day to wrestle it under control.
“We are trying to definitively encircle the fire today (August 18),” regional government spokesperson Nicolas Yernaux told AFP
In areas where firefighters could operate, he confirmed the fire was “under control and contained.”
A Belgian firefighter in a field affected by a wildfire in the High Fens region, Belgium | Photo Credit: Rueters
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