The District Administrator of Düren, Ralf Nolten (CDU), has announced that the extremely large forest fire that swept through North Rhine-Westphalia has come under control. Nolten confirmed on Sunday that the blaze in the Hürtgenwald in the Eifel region is “to some extent under control.” All auxiliary support teams are being pulled back from the scene, with the local district fire department now taking over the cleanup and recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, the situation in Belgium remains complex. Ongoing fires in the Hohen Venn have already destroyed an area spanning more than 3,000 hectares, marking it as the largest fire the country has seen. Efforts to combat the fires have been severely complicated by sections of peat bog burning and heavy equipment sinking into the ground. Dutch firefighting planes are currently deployed, and further reinforcements are anticipated from Sweden and the Czech Republic.
In Monschau, the fire department reports that the danger level has eased. Despite this, local residents in several districts had been asked to proactively prepare for a potential evacuation, and the situation continues to be monitored closely.
