Forest fire continues to rage in Belgium as shifting winds hamper containment efforts

Firefighting teams continued on Sunday evening to battle a large wildfire raging in eastern Belgium, after the blaze had consumed approximately 3,000 hectares of land in a nature reserve.

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Clerfayt told RTL network on Sunday evening that emergency crews were facing extremely difficult conditions due to strong and shifting winds.

He noted that the winds were “completely unpredictable, changing direction by a full 360 degrees within a single day,” adding that the fire’s direction of spread remained unforeseeable.

Clerfayt told the network on Sunday evening that the fire in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve continued to spread toward the south-southeast.

Earlier on Sunday afternoon, Clerfayt had stated that firefighters had managed to contain parts of the fire, including the front advancing toward the German border town of Monschau.

In Monschau, authorities said there were no indications that the fire would spread into Germany, and that evacuations were not currently necessary.