STORY: Belgium was tackling the largest wildfire on record on Saturday (August 15) with army firefighting engines deploying and help coming from the EU and neighbouring Germany and Luxembourg.

The European Union deployed three helicopters and two water bomber aircraft to tackle the blaze in the High Fens, a nature reserve in the east of the country, which has been burning since Friday (August 14).

By 1600 GMT, it had burned 2,700 hectares (10.4 sq miles) the office of the governor of Liege said in an update on Saturday evening — indicating the fire was spreading, having increased from 1,600 hectares earlier in the day.

That makes the fire by far the biggest on record in Belgium — nearly double the size of a blaze in 2011 that burned close to 1,400 hectares, data from the European Forest Fire Information System showed.

Local authorities asked residents of several villages to evacuate their homes as a precaution on Saturday, due to changing winds and smoke in the area. Tourists staying in the area were advised to leave, while a children's summer camp was also evacuated, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said in a post on X.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: WAIMES, BELGIUM (AUGUST 15, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF FIRE AND SMOKE FROM WILDFIRE IN HIGH FENS NATURE RESERVE

2. (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF FIRE ENGINES STATIONED NEAR FIRE

3. (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF FIRE

4. POLICE OFFICER MANAGING TRAFFIC

5. PEOPLE STANDING ON ROADSIDE

6. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS FILLING UP WITH WATER

7. VARIOUS OF BARRIER WITH SIGN READING (French): “Road closed due to fire”

8. FIRE ENGINE DRIVING ON ROAD