The China Mail - Belgian wildfire 'encircled' but situation still 'complicated'

Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans said the fire raging in the High Fens nature reserve "has been encircled" and is not moving east towards Germany, with the goal today to bring it under control "if possible with aerial support".

"The situation remains complicated due to a number of flare-ups that have occurred in various parts of the site," he added.

The blaze charring the expanse of peatland, pine trees and hiking trails grew over the weekend to half the size of Manhattan -- 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) -- although hundreds of firefighters working night and day have managed to stop it spreading further.

The last area to be circumscribed was a hard-to-access front closest to the German border, with ground crews working all night to close the gap, coming in from the east and north under very difficult conditions.

On-site operations have been complicated by the fens' terrain -- a patchwork of heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks.

Water-bombing aircraft from Norway, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands flew in to help, but they were unable to operate at all on Tuesday due to low clouds.

Rain falling intermittently on the area has slowed the fire's spread by increasing humidity levels, but the weather has badly hampered aerial support since Monday.

- Burning underground -

Europe has been swept by weeks of devastating wildfires fuelled by dry conditions and a historically hot summer, with France, Greece, Portugal and Spain also battling major blazes.

The High Fens blaze broke out Friday for reasons still unknown in an area that was ravaged by massive fires in 1911, during a similar period of heatwaves.

It is the country's largest wildfire since.

The fire triggered evacuation orders in the German border town of Monschau as well as two Belgian villages, although residents of the hamlet of Sourbrodt have been given the green light to return home.

Even once brought under control, officials have warned it will take weeks or even months of soaking and dousing to prevent the fire from reigniting.

"The fire is burning in the peat, so it is actually underground, sometimes quite deep," explained area fire chief David Covens on a trip into a fire zone.

"Whenever we disturb the ground, when we cut down a tree and expose the soil, the fire can reignite," he said. "We're doing everything we can with the resources available, but we know this is going to take a long time."

E.Choi--ThChM