STORY: A large wildfire in western Germany has not spread any further overnight, a fire services spokesperson of the German district near the Belgian border said on Saturday (August 15) morning.

"The situation has stabilised somewhat. We’re satisfied with the progress of the measures we initiated yesterday. Firebreaks have been created in almost all fire compartments, and we’ve stepped up the readiness of the containment lines in the most severely affected areas, particularly around the village of Gey," Dueren district fire service spokesperson Peter Berndgen told reporters.

More than 2,000 people from the village of Gey remained evacuated from their homes, Berndgen added.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday (August 14) said he was being "kept constantly informed of developments," adding that the federal police and the Bundeswehr were providing assistance where possible.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: NEAR HUERTGENWALD-GEY, GERMANY (AUGUST 15, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF SMOKE-BLACKENED CLOUDS IN FRONT OF SUN

2. VARIOUS OF FIRE-FIGHTING HELICOPTER SEEN FROM HIGHWAY

3. VARIOUS OF EMERGENCY SERVICES NEAR RESIDENTIAL AREA

KLEINHAU, GERMANY (AUGUST 15, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

4. DUEREN DISTRICT FIRE SERVICE SPOKESPERSON PETER BERNDGEN SPEAKING TO REPORTERS

5. (SOUNDBITE) (German) DUEREN DISTRICT FIRE SERVICE SPOKESPERSON, PETER BERNDGEN, SAYING:

"We’ve come out of the night pretty well. We’re satisfied with how things have gone. Specifically, this means the fire hasn’t spread any further. So we’re at the same stage as at 8 p.m. yesterday, when we said we’d be scaling back the aerial fire-fighting operations because we simply had to do so overnight. The situation has stabilised somewhat. We’re satisfied with the progress of the measures we initiated yesterday. Firebreaks have been created in almost all fire compartments, and we’ve stepped up the readiness of the containment lines in the most severely affected areas, particularly around the village of Gey."

6. BERNDGEN SPEAKING TO REPORTERS

7. (SOUNDBITE) (German) DUEREN DISTRICT FIRE SERVICE SPOKESPERSON, PETER BERNDGEN, SAYING:

"They’re still being evacuated. As far as I’m aware, everything has gone very smoothly. We have the support centre in place, and it’s working quite well. People are making use of it too. I can’t say how long we’ll keep the evacuation in place. It’ll definitely remain in place for today, at any rate. I think the situation assessment this afternoon – depending on how things develop over the course of the day – will lead the head of operations to make a further decision on the matter."

NEAR HUERTGENWALD-GEY, GERMANY (AUGUST 15, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. VARIOUS OF CIVIL PROTECTION AND EMERGENCY SERVICES NEAR FOREST FIRE

9. VARIOUS OF SMOKE OVER FOREST