Air reinforcements headed to Belgium Monday to help combat the country's worst wildfire in a century, which made "limited" advance overnight after threatening to spill into neighbouring Germany.
Much-needed rain was delivering some respite to firefighters on their fourth day battling the blaze, which broke out Friday for reasons still unknown in the High Fens nature reserve, a vast expanse of boggy peatlands, pine forests and hiking trails.
Rain and "favourable" breezes had calmed the situation in the High Fens fire area in Belgium somewhat, so that a spread to the German town of Monschau could be prevented for the time being. However, authorities were still unable to give the all-clear. "The rain did a little good, but of course it did not put out the fire," Mayor Carmen Krämer told AFP.
As the head of the regional fire department, Philipp Krüger, also said, strong winds from the southwest are expected on Tuesday. "That's a completely new situation, we haven't had that yet." The fire department is now preparing accordingly.
Spokesman for the Walloon public service Nicolas Yernaux explained on Monday afternoon that the fire was still not fully under control in the northeastern part of the High Fens, as access was complicated due to the landscape.
Although the fire could still be prevented from spreading further towards Monschau in Germany, it still could not be contained. Therefore, further support from the air is needed.
At around 3pm, Belgian King Philippe visited the rescue teams in Sourbrodt.
Aerial images show the extension of the fire, published by the Belgian German-language daily newspaper Grenzecho, which has been providing coverage of the blaze in the region:
Stéphanie Ernoux of the Crisis Coordination Centre Cortex said two federal helicopters, as well as two Chinook helicopters from the Netherlands, are expected to support operations.
However, poor visibility prevented the helicopters from beginning operations early in the morning.
"We had a visibility problem, which prevented us from carrying out helicopter operations and starting very early this morning", Ernoux said. "But we will now be able to start operating with the helicopters."
Meanwhile, Luxembourg firefighters have been working through the night alongside their Belgian counterparts.
CGDIS team lead Michaël Ford said the Luxembourg team arrived in Baelen at around 6pm on Saturday, where they refuelled before heading directly to the fire site.
They were assigned to the left flank of the fire, where their task was to establish a firebreak and prevent the flames from advancing further into the forest or crossing the roads.
"We had to keep it under control throughout the whole night, while continuing to move forward to another location", the CGDIS firefighter explained.
The crew was eventually able to take a short break on Sunday morning after working through the night.
The operation is ongoing, as firefighters continue to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further.
Of particular importance is the eastern front, which is slowly moving towards Bütgenbach forest. Forester René Dahmen shared his concerns:
"The ground is completely dried out. The fire is penetrating the soil and reaching deep into the roots. That is precisely what makes the firefighting efforts so difficult and also has much more serious consequences for the vegetation", Dahmen explains.
The damage to the valuable bog areas is of particular concern. There are still three so-called active raised bogs in the High Fens that continue to develop naturally. One of these sensitive areas was already destroyed by the flames on Friday/Saturday. The fire has now reached the second, and the forester fears that it too could burn completely.
Following a social media appeal, five farmers and several lorries gathered in Echternach at 8am on Monday morning to drive to Belgium with water tanks and help fight the blaze.
Another group in Luxembourg collected relief supplies for people in the High Fens.
Luc Hoffmann, who co-organised the collection with a few other people, drove to the location on Monday with 450 litres of drinking water, 20 litres of apple juice, and fruit and sweets.
The wildfire has also prompted an evacuation across the border in Germany, as the flames and smoke moved closer to the town of Monschau.
Crisis management spokesman Tony Hosmans confirmed to reporters Monday the blaze was no longer advancing towards the German border – after creeping nearer over the weekend, prompting the evacuation.
"At present, the fire is contained wherever intervention is possible", Hosmans said – although he cautioned it had not yet been brought under control, with an aerial reconnaissance mission due to deliver a fuller picture later in the day.
And the rainfall – with more forecast on and off throughout the week – was a welcome development.
The blaze broke out in an area that was ravaged by massive fires in 1911, during a similar period of heatwaves and drought.
It is the country's largest wildfire since.
A huge area at the border has been blanketed by a thick plume of yellowish smoke, with fumes detected as far as eastern France, where authorities issued an air-pollution alert.
The smoke hazard has triggered the evacuation of two Belgian villages, whose residents were still under instruction to stay away.
The German Bundeswehr is supporting Belgium in tackling the fire in the High Fens nature reserve near the German border. Two NH90 helicopters equipped with firefighting water tanks are being provided for the operation, Germany’s Defence Ministry said on Monday morning. "The operation will begin today and is initially planned to last seven days", the ministry said.
The fire in the High Fens is the largest wildfire in Belgium’s recent history. Around 3,000 hectares of vegetation have burned since Friday.
Firefighters were making a potentially decisive push on Tuesday to encircle the massive wildfire burning in Belgium's High Fens nature reserve, despite unfavourable weather hampering air support operations, authorities said.
"We are trying to definitively encircle the fire today," regional government spokesperson Nicolas Yernaux told AFP, saying all focus was on "reinforcing our eastern defences" with the arrival of "sustained winds" blowing towards the German border a stone's throw away.
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