Overview
- A major blaze in Belgium’s Hohes Venn that began on Friday has scorched roughly 3,000 hectares and prompted targeted evacuations on the German side near Monschau.
- Firefighters say the peat and drained moor soils in the Hohes Venn let fires burn deep below the surface, which makes full extinguishing slow and could take weeks of follow‑up work.
- The Hürtgenwald fire in North Rhine‑Westphalia, described as the largest in the state's history, has been brought under control with no open flames but hundreds of responders remain to tackle gluts.
- Belgium requested and received aerial and ground aid from EU partners including the Netherlands, Czechia, Sweden and Germany, and the EU civil protection mechanism helped coordinate resources.
- Prosecutors in Liège have opened investigations into the Hohes Venn blaze, health advisories warn residents to avoid smoke exposure, and officials say the events raise questions about cross‑border fire planning and peatland management.