“Fire in Belgian Ardennes Controlled, but Still Burning: Updates and Details”

The fire in the Belgian Ardennes that broke out at the end of the afternoon on Monday is no longer spreading. This was announced by the governor of the province of Liège after an inspection of the area this morning, writes VRT News.

There is no longer a connected fire, but there are still a number of fires. The fire in the Hoge Venen peat bog is said to have affected about 155 hectares. The Dutch and German fire brigades came to the rescue yesterday.

Also last night, about a hundred firefighters were busy fighting the fire, writes VRT Nieuws. According to the news site, it helped that the temperature dropped and it became more humid. However, the fire was not completely extinguished this morning.

The situation is being closely monitored as the wind changes direction. Fire-fighting helicopters from the Netherlands and Germany are ready to assist if the fire flares up again.

The peat fire was probably caused by human activity. “There are only two causes for a forest or peat fire, and those are a lightning strike and human action,” said René Dahmen, of the Walloon Department of Nature and Forest (DNF), previously against HLN. “We have not had a lightning strike, so it can only be caused by human action.” Malicious intent cannot be ruled out.