Hundreds evacuated as fire in Belgium’s biggest nature reserve High Fens doubles in size

Europe Climate Wed, 19 Aug 2026 07:52:42 GMT Moderate confidence — 73/100

Hundreds of people have been evacuated after a wildfire in Belgium more than doubled in size in 24 hours, becoming the largest in the country's history, officials said.
The fire in the High Fens, Belgium's biggest nature reserve in the east near Malmedy, grew from 80 hectares on Friday to 850 by Saturday morning and had burned 3,000 hectares by Sunday.
That is more than double the 1,400 hectares burned in the same area in 2011, previously the country's largest fire, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated after a wildfire in Belgium more than doubled in size in 24 hours, becoming the largest in the country's history, officials said.
The fire in the High Fens, Belgium's biggest nature reserve in the east near Malmedy, grew from 80 hectares on Friday to 850 by Saturday morning and had burned 3,000 hectares by Sunday.
That is more than double the 1,400 hectares burned in the same area in 2011, previously the country's largest fire, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Sources: The Independent