Belgian Crews Push to Fully Encircle Century's Largest Wildfire as Peat Fire Threatens to Smolder for Months

Belgian firefighters spent Tuesday, August 18, trying to close the final one-to-two-kilometer gap needed to fully surround the country's largest wildfire in over a century, according to Agence France-Presse and Euronews. Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans told AFP the fire "should be fully encircled by the end of today," though he cautioned conditions remained difficult and operations would continue overnight.

The blaze has scorched roughly 3,000 hectares, about 7,500 acres, of peatland, pine forest and hiking trails in the High Fens nature reserve since it broke out near Baelen on August 14, according to the Epoch Times, citing Walloon regional spokesman Nicolas Yernaux. The largest fire in the area since 1911, according to Euronews and France24, it surpasses a 2011 blaze that had burned about 14 square kilometers, per data from the European Forest Fire Information System cited by Breitbart.

About 500 firefighters, soldiers, police and forestry agents have rotated through the fire zone, backed by local farmers ferrying water in tractor trailers, according to the Epoch Times and Ground News. Yernaux called the farmers' help "immense." Aircraft from Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway have joined Belgian federal police helicopters, but low clouds and rain grounded air support entirely on Tuesday, France24 reported.

The same rain slowing the flames on the ground is keeping water-bombing helicopters out of the sky. "There may be windows of opportunity this morning, but it may not be before tonight," Yernaux told AFP, according to both the Hindu and Euronews.

A German border scare, mostly resolved

The fire's push toward Germany triggered real alarm over the weekend. Breitbart, citing the Associated Press, reported that about 600 residents in Waimes and Bütgenbach were told to evacuate Saturday, August 15, as winds shifted, and a nearby gymnasium was opened for evacuees. Authorities in the German town of Monschau, about 12,000 residents just across the border, ordered evacuation of two streets in the Kalterherberg district, affecting roughly 30 people, before conditions eased, according to the Epoch Times.

Provincial authorities said Monday, August 17, that the fire's advance toward Germany had been stopped after flames came within about 300 meters of the border, the Epoch Times reported. No homes have been damaged as of the reporting available, though smoke has persisted over the region.

Smoke has traveled far beyond the immediate fire zone. AFP reported fumes were detected as far as eastern France, where authorities issued an air-pollution alert, and Ground News noted the smell reached Wuppertal, Cologne and other parts of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region.

Why this fire won't just go out

Full encirclement won't end this. The High Fens sit on peat bogs, and peat fires burn underground, sometimes deep below the surface, independent of surface oxygen. "Because fire does not need oxygen when it is burning within the peat, it can flare up again at any moment, anywhere," Yernaux told the Epoch Times.

Area fire chief David Covens told France24 that disturbing the ground, cutting down a tree, exposing soil, can reignite buried embers. Belgium's Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said after touring the site with King Philippe on August 17 that it could take "several weeks" of soaking and dousing to prevent the fire from reigniting even once it's brought under control, according to the Hindu and Ground News.

Ecological recovery from the burned peatland could take centuries, a detail largely absent from the day-of tactical reporting focused on containment lines, according to reporting flagged by Ground News.

What's actually resolved and what isn't

In areas firefighters could access, Yernaux confirmed the fire was "under control and contained," according to multiple outlets including the Hindu, Euronews and France24. But he was equally clear that containment and resolution are different things: "Contained does not mean under control... the fire is rekindling everywhere, all the time," he told the Epoch Times.

Belgium activated the European Union's civil protection mechanism on August 15, according to the Epoch Times, bringing in aircraft and personnel from across the bloc. EU Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said on social media that "Belgium is not facing it alone."

Two responders have suffered minor injuries since operations began, the Epoch Times reported. Belgium's fire is one of several major blazes hitting Europe this summer, with France, Greece, Portugal and Spain all battling significant wildfires amid what multiple sources describe as weeks of historically hot, dry conditions across the continent. France24 reported that crisis officials expect "no significant improvement" in weather conditions through Wednesday, meaning ground crews will keep leading the fight without reliable air support for at least another day.