Firefighters battling a major wildfire in Belgium's Hautes Fagnes are set to receive additional aerial support on Sunday, as crews continue working to prevent the flames from spreading through the forest.
Stéphanie Ernoux of the Crisis Coordination Centre Cortex said two federal helicopters, as well as two Chinook helicopters from the Netherlands, are expected to support operations.
However, poor visibility prevented the helicopters from beginning operations early in the morning.
"We had a visibility problem, which prevented us from carrying out helicopter operations and starting very early this morning", Ernoux said. "But we will now be able to start operating with the helicopters."
Meanwhile, Luxembourg firefighters have been working through the night alongside their Belgian counterparts.
CGDIS team lead Michaël Ford said the Luxembourg team arrived in Baelen at around 6pm on Saturday, where they refuelled before heading directly to the fire site.
They were assigned to the left flank of the fire, where their task was to establish a firebreak and prevent the flames from advancing further into the forest or crossing the roads.
"We had to keep it under control throughout the whole night, while continuing to move forward to another location", the CGDIS firefighter explained.
The crew was eventually able to take a short break on Sunday morning after working through the night, with a new team expected to relieve them.
The operation is ongoing, as firefighters continue to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further.
Of particular importance is the eastern front, which is slowly moving towards Bütgenbach forest. Forester René Dahmen shared his concerns:
"The ground is completely dried out. The fire is penetrating the soil and reaching deep into the roots. That is precisely what makes the firefighting efforts so difficult and also has much more serious consequences for the vegetation", Dahmen explains.
The damage to the valuable bog areas is of particular concern. There are still three so-called active raised bogs in the High Fens that continue to develop naturally. One of these sensitive areas was already destroyed by the flames on Friday/Saturday. The fire has now reached the second, and the forester fears that it too could burn completely.
