Hundreds of firefighters are battling to stop the largest wildfire in Belgium’s history as it rages towards the German border.
The blaze has burned through 3000ha, doubling in size in the past 24 hours, and is now just 3.2km from Germany.
The fire, which has torn through the High Fens, a nature reserve in Belgium’s east, began on Friday.
Firefighters have been called in from Germany, Luxembourg and the EU to contain it.
On Sunday morning, the regional government warned that conditions in the park “remain challenging”.
Around 600 residents living in nearby municipalities in the Liège province, which lies next to Germany, were told to evacuate on Saturday as thick smoke cloaked their homes.
Meanwhile, in the nearby German town of Monschau, authorities warned residents overnight that the fire had reached just 3.2km from the border and suggested that those living in its outlying districts consider evacuating temporarily because of health hazards posed by the smoke.
Efforts to extinguish the blaze have been complicated by irregular winds and the terrain of the fens, which is criss-crossed by peat bogs, heathland and raised wooden walkways, leaving heavy vehicles vulnerable to sinking and making it hard for crews to get close to the flames.
But responders said on Sunday that they were optimistic that cooler weather would help their efforts to bring the fire under control.
Aerial reinforcements drawn from the Czech Republic and Sweden were also set to begin assisting Belgian federal police helicopters and Dutch aircraft late on Sunday, in line with the EU civil protection mechanism activated by Belgium.
Belgium, like much of Europe, has been hit by a fresh bout of extreme heat and dry weather in recent days, with temperatures climbing to 37C in stretches of the country on Friday.
Thousands of people across Germany, France, the UK, Croatia and Greece have been forced to evacuate amid intense wildfires this month following a series of heatwaves.
On the Aegean island of Skyros, in Greece, dozens more firefighters were called in overnight on Sunday to contain a fire tearing through the forestland for a second consecutive day.
Two people died and hundreds of weekend bathers were hurriedly evacuated on Sunday after two fires broke out on the Greek island of Salamis near Athens in less than half an hour, the fire department said.
In Croatia, four people were arrested for allegedly starting some of the wildfires which have raged across the Adriatic coast. Police said they were tipped off about “suspicious behaviour” by members of the public.
The Croatia fires killed at least one person, injured 40 more and forced the evacuation of more than 1000 residents and tourists in what was described as one of the worst blazes in the country’s history, consuming 1000ha in just four hours.
Meanwhile, France has arrested almost 500 people on suspicion of starting wildfires since the beginning of the summer, authorities said.
Some 70% of arrests were of those thought to have deliberately started fires, while the rest were believed to have done so unintentionally.
A 15-year-old boy was detained in connection with a fire in the vicinity of Bordeaux airport that claimed the lives of two firefighters last month.
Scientists say that climate change caused by human activity is making the hot, dry conditions that fuel wildfires more frequent and severe, allowing them to spread more rapidly and burn for longer periods.
On Friday, three in five Europeans were experiencing temperatures of at least 30C, while 150 million more were enduring heat of 35C or higher.
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