‘Zombie Fires’: Underground peat fires pose new challenge for Europe

Belgium faces a unique and persistent challenge with "zombie fires" smoldering beneath the surface in the Hautes Fagnes peatlands. Unlike typical wildfires, these fires burn unseen underground, making them exceptionally difficult to extinguish and prone to reigniting long after initial attempts to quell them.

The fire has engulfed around 3,000 hectares of the nature reserve near the German border, prompting a large-scale response involving hundreds of firefighters and extensive equipment from Belgium and several European countries, including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. The EU's civil protection mechanism was also activated.

Despite efforts to contain the blaze, the situation remains unstable, with flare-ups occurring overnight. The peat itself, which can be several meters deep in places, acts as fuel, allowing the fire to spread insidiously. This poses a significant challenge for firefighters, who require vast amounts of water and face the risk of hidden embers reigniting the fire months or even years later.

Tanja Sanders from the Thünen Institute for Forest Ecosystems highlighted the distinct nature of peat fires. "It's not just a fire in vegetation. Peatlands burn differently than vegetation," she explained to dpa. "The fire most often spreads invisibly underground, meaning you don't know exactly where the source of the fire is." This contrasts sharply with surface fires, where the location of the flames is more readily apparent.

Evacuations have been necessary, with approximately 600 residents on the Belgian side and several in Germany near Monschau forced to leave their homes. Firefighters are hoping that rainfall will aid in extinguishing the remaining underground embers, but the long-term nature of these peat fires presents an ongoing threat.

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It's not just a fire in vegetation. Peatlands burn differently than vegetation. The fire most often spreads invisibly underground, meaning you don't know exactly where the source of the fire is.