Wildfire surge forces partial evacuation in German border town as French blaze comes under control — The Debate

Record heat drives a series of fires across Europe, prompting evacuations in Germany and a stabilising blaze in France.

A wave of wildfires across Europe, driven by record heat, has forced a partial evacuation in the German town of Monschau while a large fire in France shows signs of stabilising.

Scientists attribute the increasing frequency of extreme heatwaves to human‑induced climate change.

Here are the latest developments this Monday morning.

Water‑dropping aircraft and farmers' tractors helped firefighters battle Belgium's largest modern‑day wildfire in a hard‑to‑reach nature reserve near the border with Germany. The fire forced Monschau to order a partial evacuation as the blaze grew.

Military helicopters backed by ground tractors hauled water to the scene, while the fire, whose cause remains unknown, expanded from about 80 hectares on Friday to nearly 3,000 hectares by Sunday.

Temperatures in Belgium topped 37C on Friday, creating conditions that favour rapid fire spread.

The cross‑border nature of the incident has prompted the EU civil protection mechanism to coordinate resources between the two countries.

Two people died on the Greek island of Salamis near Athens, and more than 570 residents were evacuated by coast‑guard vessels.

Greece has seen a surge of blazes since late July, with 36 fires reported in the past 24 hours, driven by strong winds after a period of intense heat.

In Portugal, hundreds of firefighters are battling several fires near the Spanish border; five crew members suffered minor injuries when their vehicle caught fire near the village of Dine.

Near the border, the civil protection agency ANEPC reported active fires at Boticas and Chavez.

A Spanish soldier died while assisting in a major wildfire in Aragon, where authorities have deployed the largest firefighting arsenal in the region's history.

French reinforcements were sent to contain a blaze that threatened a 1,000‑year‑old monastery.

In Croatia, police arrested four suspects believed to have started fires that scorched pine forests and olive groves along the Adriatic coast.

A fire that burned 1,700 hectares in the Landes department of southwestern France has been stabilised after three days of ground and air operations. Local official Gilles Clavreul said the situation was improving as temperatures fell to 28C and humidity rose.

The first group of the 650 people evacuated from the French fire zone is expected to return to their homes on Sunday evening.

These incidents illustrate how smoke and heat are crossing national borders, prompting health agencies across the continent to issue air‑quality warnings.