Shafaqna English– As Saturday(15 Aug 2026) dawned, the EU rapidly deployed an aerial firefighting task force — comprising three helicopters and two water-bomber aircraft — to support Belgian ground crews battling the country’s largest wildfire since records began. The escalating crisis also prompted local authorities to issue mandatory evacuation notices to residents in multiple villages, fearing that the advancing inferno could soon overrun their homes.
The inferno, which ignited on Friday within the High Fens — a protected nature reserve situated in Belgium’s eastern region — has continued its relentless advance for two consecutive days. In response, firefighting crews have been mobilized not only from various provinces across Belgium itself but also from the neighboring nations of Germany and Luxembourg. Adding to these professional efforts, contingents of the Belgian military and local farming communities have also joined the desperate struggle to bring the flames under control.
Source: Reuters