Fires in Belgium, France and Spain. Von der Leyen: ‘Europe on high alert’

At least 1,650 hectares have been destroyed by a fire in a nature reserve in eastern Belgium. A spokesperson for the Walloon authorities told AFP as much. The fire broke out around midday yesterday in the Hautes Fens, a vast wooded area popular with walkers and close to the German border, before spreading rapidly during the night.

France is still battling wildfires in 2026, a year that has already set a record for the area burnt over the past 20 years. The fire that broke out on Thursday in south-western France, in the Landes pine forest which has been dried out by the heatwave, has already burnt 1,580 hectares, according to official sources on Saturday. The rekindling of some of the blazes has led to ‘an increase in the area burnt: we are now at almost 1,600 hectares – 1,580 to be precise. It has been necessary to carry out further evacuations, involving around a hundred people, bringing the total to 650,” Gilles Clavreul, the prefect of the Landes department, told the press.

The battle against the devastating forest fire affecting the Huesca region in north-eastern Spain continued through the night from Friday to Saturday. Firefighters and units from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) have been working tirelessly to contain the flames of the Peñas de Riglos fire, which has already destroyed thousands of hectares and forced hundreds of people to leave their homes.

In short, it’s not just Italia. “Europe remains on high alert for wildfires. The pressure is mounting.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote this on X, explaining that “our Copernicus satellite system is already supporting mapping operations”. Von der Leyen added that “through its Emergency Response Centre, Europe is keeping a close watch on fires across the continent. And the Civil Protection Mechanism is there when a country calls on Europe for solidarity.”