Fires in the Hoge Venen, Belgium 16/8/2026

(A photo of a dry dune in Belgium, not the location of forest fires in the article)

Frank Clayes writes from Ghent, Belgium:

Every summer we hear about forest fires in France, Spain and Portugal. But in Belgium? No, we never have fires like that there. But never say never, because climate change means that suddenly anything í possible.

Even if some politicians in the US say there is no such thing as climate change. It’ll just have to be Biden’s fault if there’s a major fire in the Hoge Venen this summer.

The fires have now been raging for three days and are proving difficult to bring under control. 3,000 hectares – equivalent to 4,200 football pitches – have already been destroyed in the High Fens. People have been evacuated from several smaller villages. Fifteen people are being sheltered in Malmedy.

The difficulty is that the fire creates a kind of cloud – a pyrocumulus – which attracts wind, causing the fire to spread even against the wind. Belgium is receiving support from several countries to extinguish the fire, but the efforts have not yet succeeded.

Just for the record. This isn’t the biggest fire in Belgium yet; in 1911, there was a fire that destroyed 3,900 hectares. But who cares about that? The political parties, of course, are quick to offer their comments.

All of them are thoroughly contradictory, as usual. One says it’s a result of climate change; another says that it may have been started deliberately. However, the investigation into the cause is still ongoing.

The opinions are, to say the least, premature. I hope it rains soon so that this drought comes to an end.

Bản tiếng Việt bài của ông Frank Clayes, giám đốc đại diện EU của Viet News UK ở Ghent, Vương quốc Bỉ: