Belgium’s largest wildfire on record spreads towards German border

Neighbouring countries send personnel to help keep the blaze from crossing into Germany.Firefighters are battling Belgium’s largest wildfire on record as it burns through the High Fens nature reserve near the German border on Sunday.The fire broke out on Friday in Belgium’s Liege province and has been spreading east towards Germany. It has burned more than 27sq km (10.4sq miles).Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2More than 135 million people in Europe face temperatures over 35Clist 2 of 2Wildfires force thousands to flee as blazes spread across Europeend of listBelgium’s previous record fire occurred in 2011, burning 14sq km (5.4sq miles) of the same reserve, the European Forest Fire Information System said.More than 250 emergency services personnel have been deployed, among them firefighters from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.Firefighters focused on containing the advancing front of the fire, spokesperson for the government of Belgium’s Wallonia province, Stephanie Ernoux, told the Reuters news agency.About 600 people in the Belgian border municipalities of Waimes and Butgenbach were told to leave their homes on Saturday as winds shifted and smoke spread.Authorities said no homes had been affected as of Sunday morning, but urged people to stay away from the fire zone.In Germany, the town of Monschau said the fire had come within about 3km (1.9 miles) of the border. Officials did not expect the flames to cross the border, the town said, but it advised residents of three of its districts to leave temporarily due to the smoke.The fire came as Belgium had just come through another burst of severe heat, the thermometer touching roughly 37C (98.6F) in places on Friday, on top of weeks with barely any rain.Like other parts of Europe, Belgium is in the middle of a summer of repeated heatwaves. Weather agencies logged temperatures above 35C (95F) in several European countries on Thursday, and the United Kingdom had its hottest day of the year when west London reached 38.1C (100.5F).