Belgium records 234 wildfires in 2026, more than double last year’s total
Belgium registered 234 wildfires between 1 January and 13 August 2026, compared with 115 during all of 2025, according to researchers at Ghent University.
The provisional total signals a much busier fire season and places greater demands on fire brigades, nature managers and emergency planners. The High Fens disaster also demonstrates that one large incident can cause far more damage than many smaller vegetation fires combined.
Updated 24 August 2026, 14:00 CEST — BRUSSELS — registered 234 wildfires between 1 January and 13 August 2026, researchers reported on 17 August. That is more than double the 115 recorded during all of 2025. The major fire that subsequently swept through the was not included in the count.
The researchers’ figures, reported by , cover uncontrolled fires in forests, heathland, dunes, marshes and other natural environments. Their long-term dataset puts ’s annual average at 62 fires between 2010 and 2025. The latest total is therefore almost four times that benchmark, although researchers are still measuring several burn scars and revising earlier reports.
The geographical pattern has also shifted. According to the dataset, accounted for 57% of the fires and for 43%. Wallonia’s historical share was about 20%. remained the most affected province, with 26% of recorded incidents, followed by with 15% and West Flanders and Luxembourg with 12% each.
Those incident numbers do not measure the severity of each fire. The researchers had calculated 53 hectares burned in 2026 before incorporating numerous outstanding measurements or the disaster. reported on 16 August that the High Fens fire alone had affected almost 3,000 hectares, making it ’s largest recorded wildfire. The contrast shows why fire frequency and burned area require separate interpretation.
’s Climate Risk Assessment Center, CERAC, said in July that more than 90% of Belgian wildfires are connected to human activity. It also identified higher temperatures, more severe droughts and longer periods of elevated fire danger as conditions driving the risk. The recorded a warmer-than-normal winter in Uccle in 2025-26, with less precipitation and fewer precipitation days than the 1991-2020 averages.
The rise exposes a structural preparedness problem. A 2025 assessment by CERAC and the called for better monitoring, faster detection, stronger federal coordination and additional support for emergency services. The federal interior minister later told parliament that the Belgian Wildfire Network was developing common risk analysis, data collection, modelling and firefighter training, while prevention remained primarily a regional responsibility.
Authorities and researchers will now update the national total to include delayed reports, newly measured burn scars and the fire. The final scale of the 2026 season, the causes of individual incidents and the full ecological damage remain unknown.
Impact
Regional — Flanders still recorded the larger share, at 57%, but Wallonia’s 43% was substantially above its historical share of roughly 20%. Limburg accounted for 26% of incidents, while Namur accounted for 15%.
Local — The regional pattern shifted noticeably in 2026. Flanders retained the larger share with 57% of recorded incidents, but Wallonia reached 43%, more than double its historical share of roughly 20%. Limburg alone accounted for 26% of incidents, while Namur represented 15%. The later High Fens fire, excluded from the 234-fire count, affected almost 3,000 hectares. These concentrations place particular operational pressure on local fire brigades, nature managers and emergency planners in the affected provinces and protected landscapes.
What it means for you
Residents and visitors should treat wildfire warnings and access restrictions in nature areas as operational safety measures, particularly during dry periods. Before visiting heathland, woodland or the High Fens, check current instructions from the relevant local authority or site manager and avoid any activity that could ignite dry vegetation. Anyone comparing the figures should note the reporting cut-off of 13 August 2026: the 234 total is provisional, excludes the subsequent High Fens fire and does not provide a complete burned-area total. Final 2026 figures may therefore be higher.
Opposing perspectives
- Incident-frequency researchers
Ghent University researchers treat the sharp rise in recorded incidents as evidence that Belgium’s fire season is becoming longer and geographically broader, while stressing that delayed confirmations and incomplete burn-scar measurements keep the 2026 dataset provisional.
- Severity-focused risk assessors
CERAC and emergency planners emphasise that incident totals alone do not define national danger. Burned area, fire intensity, simultaneous outbreaks, proximity to homes and the capacity of rescue zones determine the operational consequences.
Who, where and what
Key people, places and terms in this story
The Royal Meteorological Institute is Belgium’s official weather service and national forecaster. It matters as the authority issuing and explaining Belgian weather warnings, including heat and thunderstorm alerts.
Country where 234 wildfires were recorded between 1 January and 13 August 2026.
Region accounting for 57% of recorded 2026 wildfire incidents.
Region accounting for 43% of incidents, above its historical share of roughly 20%.
Province accounting for 15% of recorded incidents.
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Country where 234 wildfires were recorded between 1 January and 13 August 2026.
Region accounting for 57% of recorded 2026 wildfire incidents.
Region accounting for 43% of incidents, above its historical share of roughly 20%.
Province accounting for 15% of recorded incidents.
Natural area affected by a subsequent wildfire covering almost 3,000 hectares, excluded from the provisional count.
Province accounting for 26% of recorded incidents.
The Royal Meteorological Institute is Belgium’s official weather service and national forecaster. It matters as the authority issuing and explaining Belgian weather warnings, including heat and thunderstorm alerts.
Research project working to strengthen Belgium’s incomplete historical wildfire record.
University leading the wildfire mapping research behind the reported figures.
Federal centre collaborating on wildfire research and improvements to Belgium’s historical record.
University participating with CERAC and Ghent University in the BelFires research project.
Belgian public-service news outlet reporting the wildfire figures and the High Fens fire.
News aggregation outlet that republished the VRT NWS report.
Belgian newspaper cited for reporting on changing wildfire patterns.
Belgian institution that published a wildfire-risk assessment with CERAC.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceVRT NWS report republished by De KrantenkoppenPrimaryprimary· dekrantenkoppen.be· 17 August 2026Retrieved 24 August 2026· 46 days ago· Dated
- View sourceVRT NWS — High Fens wildfirecorroborating· vrt.be· 16 August 2026Retrieved 24 August 2026· 47 days ago· Dated
- View sourceDe Standaard — changing wildfire patternscorroborating· standaard.be· 30 July 2026Retrieved 24 August 2026· 64 days ago· Dated
- View sourceCERAC — wildfire numbers continue to riseofficial· cerac.be· 16 July 2026Retrieved 24 August 2026· 78 days ago· Dated
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This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.