Due to the massive forest fire in eastern Belgium, German authorities have ordered an evacuation in parts of the border town of Monschau in North Rhine-Westphalia state in western Germany.
The current situation required the immediate evacuation of a number of streets, the town of Monschau announced on its website late Sunday.
Residents were told to leave the affected homes immediately. Emergency accommodation was set up at a secondary school in the area. Seventeen homes and up to 30 people were affected.
Earlier Sunday, authorities in Monschau said there were no indications that the blaze would spread into Germany and that evacuations were not currently necessary.
On Sunday afternoon, Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin told broadcaster RTL that firefighters managed to bring parts of the blaze under control, including the front spreading towards Monschau.
But he did say then that winds are “completely unpredictable, shifting through a full 360-degrees in the course of a single day,” adding that the direction in which the fire spreads remains uncertain.
The wildfire has destroyed around 3,000 hectares in the High Fens nature reserve in eastern Belgium.
Belgium has received support from several European countries, including two firefighting helicopters from the Netherlands and two water-bombing aircraft from Sweden. Firefighters from Germany and Luxembourg were already at the scene, local authorities said.
According to the province of Liège, the fire is not yet under control. Around 500 emergency personnel and 120 vehicles are involved in the firefighting effort.