# Belgium Calls for EU Help as Its Largest Wildfire in 30 Years Tears Through the High Fens

> A blaze that has already burned around 1,600 hectares near the German border has forced Belgium to ask European partners for reinforcements, with aircraft, helicopters and foreign firefighters now joining the fight.

- Source: Belgium Crown
- Canonical URL: https://belgiumcrown.com/article/belgium-calls-for-eu-help-as-its-largest-wildfire-in-30-years-tears-through-the-high-fens
- Author: Belgium Crown Staff
- Section: Europe
- Published: 2026-08-15T12:45:16.410Z
- Updated: 2026-08-15T12:45:16.410Z
- Tags: wildfire, Hautes Fagnes, EU, civil protection, Baelen

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Belgium has asked fellow European Union countries for help battling a wildfire that has torn through roughly 1,600 hectares of the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve in the east of the country, close to the German border.

The fire broke out on Friday afternoon near the town of Baelen and has continued spreading since, according to the public broadcaster RTBF, which described it as the largest wildfire Belgium has seen in three decades. German firefighters crossed the border to help on Friday night, and by Saturday the response had grown into a wider European effort.

EU Crisis Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said on social media that additional helicopters and aircraft from the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands had been mobilised to support the firefighting operation. Belgium's own civil protection agency has also called in the army, which is expected to provide firefighting vehicles drawn from its air bases.

The Hautes Fagnes, known for its peat bogs and open moorland, sits in one of the more remote corners of Belgium, and its dry vegetation has made the blaze difficult to contain. Authorities have not yet said when the fire is likely to be brought fully under control.

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Originally published by Belgium Crown. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://belgiumcrown.com/article/belgium-calls-for-eu-help-as-its-largest-wildfire-in-30-years-tears-through-the-high-fens.