Belgium’s King Philippe will visit the area affected by what is believed to be the largest wildfire in the country’s history this morning, after a weekend of intense firefighting in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve.
A drone view shows smoke rising from burnt fields and forests during a wildfire near Waimes, in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes) region, Belgium. Photograph: Yves Herman/ReutersThe fire has been raging since Friday afternoon, burning more than 3,000 hectares of land, provisional figures show.
Over the weekend, the blaze crept closer to the German border, prompting the precautionary evacuation of parts of the town of Monschau.
As of Monday morning, light rain helped to stop the spread of the fire east towards Germany, but the blaze continued to grow in the north-eastern direction, local media reported.
Smoke rising from a charred landscape in the aftermath of a wildfire in the Hautes Fagnes (High Fens) nature reserve, in Waimes, Belgium. Photograph: Nicolas Lambert/Belga/AFP/Getty ImagesBelgian newspaper Le Soir warned: “This is no longer just a warning,” lamenting the severe impact of the summer heatwave and the mounting losses.
Over the weekend, large wildfires were also reported in France and Greece.
I will bring you all the updates during the day.
It’s Monday, 17 August 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
