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🇧🇪 Belgium /Environment & Climate

Fagnes fire: 110 people remain deployed as new suppression systems are tested

From La Libre Belgique · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • Authorities in Belgium’s Fagnes region kept 110 people, including 65 German volunteer firefighters, deployed three weeks after the fire began.
  • Two sprinkler systems are being tested on the eastern front, including an approximately 1,800-metre line capable of delivering more than 2,000 litres of water per minute.
  • The burned area remains closed to the public, and the N68 remains shut between Belle-Croix and Eupen at least through September 13.

Three weeks into the fire in the Fagnes, 110 people remained mobilized on Saturday, including 65 German volunteer firefighters. The governor of Liège province said the support was temporarily relieving the province’s heavily committed emergency services.

Civil Protection also provided a drone to observe the different sectors. Authorities are testing two sprinkler systems on the eastern front as part of a longer-term tactical plan for adapting the response.

One system consists of a line about 1,800 metres long that delivers more than 2,000 litres of water per minute. The aim is to keep sensitive areas continuously damp. If the tests succeed, the equipment could provide lasting protection for critical sectors while reducing the number of people needed on site.

This support temporarily relieves the emergency services in the province, which have been heavily committed since the fire began three weeks ago.

· Services of the governor of Liège provinceThe governor’s services described the role of the German volunteer firefighters.

Large numbers of visitors were heading to the Fagnes during the sunny weekend. Stewards from the Hautes Fagnes-Eifel Nature Park were present to provide information and direct visitors toward accessible walks outside the restricted area.

Access to the burned perimeter remained strictly prohibited. The N68 also remained closed between the Belle-Croix crossroads and Eupen, at least through Sunday, September 13.

It is scandalous

· Unidentified sourceThe phrase appeared in a related reference to a growing hypothesis about how the fire began.
About this summary

Originally published by La Libre Belgique in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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