Around 75 hectares of heathland and nature reserve have been destroyed in a major fire in the Hoge Kempen National Park in the municipalities of Maasmechelen and As in Limburg Province. The East Limburg Fire Service says that the fire was brought completely under control by around 2 am on Friday morning.
The fire broke out at around 9 pm on Thursday and a cloud of smoke was visible for many kilometres around the scene of the fire. The East Limburg Fire Service says that it estimates that around 75 hectares of heathland were scorched by the fire.
The Fire Service spokeswoman Karen Desmedt told VRT News that "The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fauna will recover quickly as it was vegetation consisting of heather and grass. Firefighters were able to stop the flames before they reached the edge of the forest”.
No houses were threatened by the blaze and there were also no casualties. There were around 300 sheep on the heath, but they were never in direct danger.
The East Limburg Fire Service sent several fire engines from several fire stations to tackle the blaze. Around 70 fire fighters were deployed at the scene for several hours.
On Friday morning, the fire service inspected the site again to reassess the situation on the ground.