Belgium put all its resources and efforts on high alert on Sunday to combat a forest fire considered one of the worst in its history, which has consumed approximately 3,000 hectares in a remote and difficult-to-access forest reserve.

More than 100 firefighters have been working since Friday to contain the blaze in the Hayvens region, a large reserve in the east of the country popular with hikers, but which has become vulnerable to flames.

"We are fighting hard because everyone wants to put out the fire," explained Gregory Millot, a firefighter on his third shift in the area. "We have significantly reduced the damage to prevent it from spreading to the large fir trees," he added, while acknowledging that the fire is still out of control. These firefighters are relying on the support of many local farmers who have come to help.

This fire is the largest in modern Belgian history, surpassing the massive blaze that swept through the region in 1911. A thick cloud of smoke covers the entire area near the German border, turning yellow in some places, prompting authorities to evacuate residents from villages close to the fire.

The German border town of Monschau also advised its residents living near the border to leave.

The smell of smoke has been detected as far away as Namur, more than 100 kilometers away, and even in the French department of Moselle, triggering an air pollution alert.

However, no homes have been affected.

Stronger winds are fanning the flames

Authorities reported that several fires are still burning, while fire chief Luc Poirat told reporters: "We have just encountered another problem with increasing wind speed, and we have requested reinforcements from an entire unit." The rugged, wooded terrain is preventing firefighters from approaching the flames, and they cannot even reach the initial area that burned. This means the source of the fire remains unknown, so helicopters may be the only solution.

In addition to its own fleet, Belgium is relying on aerial support from other European countries to try to control the situation.

Coordinated efforts between the Belgian Federal Police and Dutch helicopters began Sunday morning to help extinguish the fires. Thanks to the European Civil Protection Mechanism, activated on Saturday, Belgium received, in addition to its two own helicopters, two Chinook helicopters from Amsterdam, as well as two water-bombing aircraft from Stockholm, which entered service that afternoon.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever wrote in a post on the X platform: "We thank our European partners for the assistance they are providing." Like much of Europe, Belgium has suffered in recent days from a severe heat wave and drought, with temperatures soaring to 37 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country on Friday, conditions conducive to the spread of forest fires.