EU sends aircraft and villagers evacuate as Belgium battles record wildfire

Hundreds of villagers were under evacuation orders in eastern Belgium on Saturday as firefighters battled one of the country's worst-ever wildfires, with vast swathes of nature reserve turned to a singed wasteland. Reinforcements were pulled from across the country to fight the blaze that broke out Friday in the High Fens park near the German border and quickly spread, with helicopters and water bombers flying in from across the EU to help. Described by officials as the largest in Belgium's modern history, the blaze broke out in an area of fragile peatlands and pine forests that was ravaged by massive wildfires in 1911, during a similar period of extreme heatwaves and drought. By late Saturday, it had scorched more than 2,700 hectares (6,700 acres), up from a mere 80 hectares on Friday, the local authorities said in a statement. Read moreHundreds of villagers evacuate as Belgium battles record wildfire "You can't see a thing anymore, there's smoke everywhere," David Rodolfs, a restaurant owner in the nearby Waimes area, told AFP by telephone. Rodolfs said his colleagues witnessed the fire breaking out on Friday. "There was ash falling onto the tables, and then we asked our customer...