The fire that set the High Fens nature area in eastern Belgium ablaze is now under control. At its height 170 hectares were on fire. At least 50 hectares have been destroyed.
Belgian fire-fighters received support from German colleagues. Last night and this morning 140 fire-fighters were at work.
Dry conditions of recent weeks meant the heath was dry as a bone and the fire spread quickly.
The operation to put out the fire was complicated by the fact that there are no water mains in the area and water had to be brought in from 5km further afield. Civil protection officers created a special basin and filled it with 60,000 litres of water that could be used by a federal police helicopter. Every three minutes the chopper collected a thousand litres of water to drop on the fire.
