A wildfire raging through Belgium's High Fens region had consumed approximately 3,000 hectares by Sunday morning, 17 August 2025, making it the largest fire ever recorded in the country, with multiple hotspots still burning and no clear containment in sight. Around 600 evacuated residents remained unable to return to their homes, according to Liege Governor Herve Jamar.

Scale and Spread of the Blaze

The fire broke out on Friday covering a relatively modest 60 hectares, but expanded with alarming speed over the weekend, ballooning to an estimated 3,000 hectares — a figure that officials said could be revised upward once helicopters and drones completed aerial surveys later in the day. No homes had been directly damaged overnight, though the fire continued to press close to residential areas and heavy smoke blanketed the region.

Firefighters were concentrating their efforts on a roughly one-kilometre-wide front near the German border, where rugged terrain made access for ground vehicles extremely difficult. Across the border, conditions in the German town of Monschau had improved by Sunday morning after residents were earlier told to prepare for a possible evacuation.

Multinational Response on the Ground

More than 250 emergency personnel worked through the night, according to Governor Jamar. Firefighters drawn from more than 15 emergency zones across Belgium were joined by teams from Germany and Luxembourg, as well as Belgian Civil Protection, federal police, and military units — underscoring the extraordinary scale of the operation.

The Walloon risk coordination centre CORTEX confirmed that two Belgian federal police helicopters and two Dutch Chinook helicopters — each equipped with a Bambi Bucket capable of carrying approximately 7,600 litres of water — were supporting aerial firefighting operations on Sunday morning. Swedish firefighting aircraft remained on standby under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

What the Government Said

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever on Sunday publicly thanked emergency teams from across Belgium and European partners for their assistance, while expressing solidarity with those displaced by the blaze. His statement came as crisis meetings continued through the morning.

David Dehenauw, head of weather forecasting at Belgium's Royal Meteorological Institute, warned after the Sunday morning crisis meeting that the fire was advancing eastward and could also spread against the wind direction because it was moving along the ground. He cautioned that winds were expected to strengthen through Sunday afternoon.

Weather Outlook and Smoke Impact

Only 1 to 2 mm of rain was forecast for Monday morning, with more meaningful rainfall expected on Tuesday and Wednesday — though it remained unclear, according to Dehenauw, whether even that precipitation would be sufficient to aid containment efforts.

Smoke from the blaze had already spread as far as 80 km from the fire zone, reaching parts of the Belgian provinces of Namur and Luxembourg. Local authorities in those areas advised residents to keep doors and windows closed, switch off ventilation systems, and limit outdoor activity until conditions improved.

With weather conditions remaining unfavourable and the fire still active along a difficult front, all eyes are now on Tuesday's rainfall and whether European aerial assets can hold the line before then.