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Belgian wildfire approaches Germany as Greece probes deadly blaze

More than 250 emergency personnel battled the Belgian blaze as Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic sent aircraft and helicopters.

  • On Sunday, wildfires in Belgium and Greece claimed two lives as hot, dry conditions fueled blazes across Europe. A massive fire scorched the High Fens nature reserve in eastern Belgium, while a separate blaze killed two people on the Greek island of Salamina.
  • Unusually hot weather and dry soil have complicated containment efforts across the region. Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the Public Service of Wallonia, said conditions are "much deeper" than in previous years, as the High Fens fire surpassed a 2011 record-breaking blaze.
  • EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib activated the European Union's civil protection mechanism, stating, "Belgium is not facing it alone." Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic deployed water-bombing aircraft and helicopters to assist over 250 emergency personnel.
  • In Peristeria, strong winds accelerated the blaze, with the two deaths occurring in the village as authorities evacuated 500 beachgoers. A second fire was reported in the nearby Selini area.
  • Although the heat wave is easing, drought conditions maintain high wildfire risk across Europe. Firefighters in Germany made progress against a blaze in the Hürtgen Forest, while crews in France continue monitoring vast pine forests in the Landes region.
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Thanks to the weather, the firefighters have also been successful in this country. In Belgium, German firefighters are helping to keep one of the greatest fires in the history of the kingdom in check.

·Munich, Germany
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The rain begins today in Belgium, which suffers the worst forest fire, while Greece announces that the fire is controlled near Athens.

·Monterrey, Mexico
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Belgian wildfire approaches Germany as Greece probes deadly blaze

Belgium is battling one of its largest wildfires, despite cooler weather and rain. The blaze in the High Fens is moving near Germany and has burned around 30 square kilometers, or about 12 square miles.

·New York, United States
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Large-scale fires engulf Greece and Belgium: hundreds evacuated, some deadTwo people died in a fire on the Greek island of Salamis, more than 500 were evacuated. In Belgium, a fire in the Visoko Feni reserve has covered 3,000 hectares, becoming the largest in the country's history.

·Kyiv, Ukraine
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Click on Detroit broke the news in Detroit, United States on Sunday, August 16, 2026.
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