Sawt Falasteen - Residents evacuate as Belgium wildfire scorches 1,600 hectares

Reinforcements from across the country were fighting the blaze which broke out Friday in the High Fens (Hautes Fagnes) natural park, a vast wood- and heathland popular with hikers near the German border, and quickly expanded.

By Saturday afternoon, the fire had scorched at least 16 square kilometres (six square miles), according to Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the regional authorities in Wallonia.

Residents in parts of the villages of Sourbrodt and Buetgenbach were ordered to evacuate at around 4:00 pm (1400 GMT), local authorities said in a Facebook post.

Others in the area were advised to remain indoors and keep doors and windows closed. A gymnasium in a neighbouring municipality was opened to accommodate evacuees.

The blaze remains uncontrolled, said Yernaux, who called it the "largest in recent history" for Belgium.

"There is a risk that the fire could reach homes, but we are deploying all available resources to protect them," he said.

An AFP journalist was escorted into the burn zone along with Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, witnessing a huge expanse of singed vegetation, with thick smoke hanging in the air.

"When you see how things looked this morning and how they are now, you can only be shocked," Quintin told AFP.

"But at the same time, we're grateful for the work that has been done. You can see the farmers out here driving around and continuing to wet down the area. It's impressive, very impressive."

On social media, numerous farmers posted photographs of themselves heading to the fire zone to support emergency crews.

- Difficult terrain -

Operations were being made harder by the fens' terrain -- a patchwork of heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks.

Firefighters had "pulled back to the edge of the forest and allowed parts of the heathland to burn because the area is very difficult to access," Yernaux said.

Belgium swiftly activated the European Union civil protection mechanism allowing it to request personnel and equipment from across the continent.

European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said two Swedish water-bombing aircraft and two helicopters, one from the Czech Republic and one from the Netherlands, were on their way.

"The situation is complicated and highly dependent on aerial resources," Yernaux said.

David Rodolfs, 38, who owns two restaurants in the nearby Waimes area, said the wildfire had forced businesses to evacuate and left residents stunned by the destruction.

"It's a catastrophe," he told AFP.

According to Rodolfs, some of his colleagues witnessed the fire breaking out on Friday.

"There was ash falling onto the tables, and then we asked our customers to leave. No dessert, everyone had to go."

- Farmers offer help -

Liege provincial governor Herve Jamar said authorities had been flooded with offers of help -- from catering to support on the ground.

"We once again want to sincerely thank everyone who is mobilising and showing their solidarity," Jamar wrote on Facebook -- while urging people to leave fire department phone lines open for dealing emergencies.

Like much of Europe, Belgium has experienced a fresh spell of intense heat in recent days, with temperatures reaching as high as 37 degrees Celsius in parts of the country on Friday.

The wildfire is located only a few dozen kilometres from another major blaze in western Germany, which has already forced the evacuation of about 1,800 people, with flames advancing close to the first homes in the town of Hurtgenwald.

S.AbuJamous--SF-PST