Greek wildfire kills two people as aircraft deployed to blaze at Belgian nature reserve
Couple die in Salamis and Belgium battling its biggest fire in more than a century near German border
An elderly couple died in fires on the Greek island of Salamis on Sunday and a fire ravaged Belgium’s largest nature reserve, in the latest wave of European wildfires
The couple died outside their home in the Peristeria beach area of Salamis, Greece’s coastguard said. More than 500 people were ordered to evacuate
In Spain, a soldier died on Sunday while helping efforts to extinguish a large wildfire in Aragon, authorities said. The fire in the north-eastern region has raged for a week and threatened a 1,000-year-old monastery
In Belgium, a wildfire that broke out on Friday in the High Fens, a large nature reserve popular with hikers, had ravaged about 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of land and was encroaching on the border with Germany by early Sunday morning
About 600 people in the municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, in Liège province, were told on Saturday to evacuate from their homes, and tourists were also advised to leave, as winds shifted and smoke spread
Of those who followed the order, about 20 spent the night in a sports hall, while others sought refuge with family and friends
Hervé Jamar, the governor of Liège, said more than 250 firefighters and emergency staff were involved in the operation, including firefighters from Germany
Farmers have also been helping to battle the blaze, using their tractors to pull in water from Lake Robertville
Air support, provided by two water-bombing aircraft from Sweden and four helicopters – two from Belgium and two from the Netherlands – is crucial owing to the nature reserve’s complex and fragile terrain, which is made up of dense forest, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks where heavy firefighting vehicles risk sinking
Access to Lake Bütgenbach was prohibited on Sunday to allow the aircraft to refill
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Authorities described the conditions as still challenging, although two fire fronts towards Jalhay and Monschau were now under control, said Belgium’s interior minister, Bernard Quintin, after visiting the crisis centre in Vottem on Sunday afternoon
“On this third day of fighting the fires, all renked all those involved. “We can also count on the solidarity of our European partners … Thank you to everyone who mobilised to fight the fires. United, we are stronger.”
The fire, described by officials as the largest in Belgium’s modern history, began in an area that in 1911 was badly affected by massive wildfires during a drought
Europe is the world’s fastest warming continent. What is to blame?
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Human-caused climate breakdown is supercharging extreme weather around the world, driving more frequent and deadlier disasters from heatwaves to floods to wildfires. Much of Europe is experiencing a new period of intense heat, creating conditions conducive to wildfire outbreaks
On Friday a fire engulfed homes in a Croatian holiday resort, killing one person, injuring 40 and forcing 1,200 to evacuate, officials said, as the EU warned that pockets of “very extreme” wildfire conditions stretched across the continent
Hundreds more people were evacuated from villages in western Germany and south-west France, while stranded holidaymakers were picked up from beaches threatened by flames in Greece and the army rescued historical relics in Spain
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