San Francisco Frontiers - Firefighters in 'crucial' push to encircle Belgian wildfire

The blaze charring the expanse of peatland, pine trees and hiking trails grew over the weekend to half the size of Manhattan -- 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) -- with hundreds of firefighters working night and day to wrestle it under control.

Much of the fire has now been circumscribed, but a hard-to-access front closest to the German border remains a concern, with gusty easterly winds bringing an added challenge.

Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans told AFP Tuesday evening "the fire should be fully encircled by the end of today," but that conditions were "difficult" and operations would keep going through the night.

"Today is a really crucial milestone because if we finally manage to fully surround the fire, we know we should then be able to bring it under control," added regional government spokesman Nicolas Yernaux.

On-site operations have been complicated by the fens' terrain -- a patchwork of heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks where heavy vehicles risk sinking into the ground, and firefighters struggle to tackle the fire at close range.

Water-bombing aircraft from Norway, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands flew in to help, but they have been repeatedly grounded by low clouds -- and were unable to operate at all on Tuesday.

Rain falling intermittently on the area has slowed the fire's spread by increasing humidity levels but the weather has badly hampered aerial support.

Hosmans said "no significant improvement" in conditions was expected Wednesday, and that ground crews would continue to lead the fight.

- Weeks to go -

Teams have been working night and day to try to fully surround the fire, coming in from the east and north under very difficult conditions.

"So far, wherever we've been able to deploy crews, we've succeeded in controlling the fire. There is just one last small gap left to close," Yernaux told AFP during a trip into the fire zone.

But even once brought under control, officials have warned it will take weeks or even months of soaking and dousing to prevent the fire from reigniting.

"The fire is burning in the peat, so it is actually underground, sometimes quite deep," explained area fire chief David Covens.

"Whenever we disturb the ground, when we cut down a tree and expose the soil, the fire can reignite," he said. "We're doing everything we can with the resources available, but we know this is going to take a long time."

Europe has been swept by weeks of devastating wildfires fuelled by dry conditions and a historically hot summer, with France, Greece, Portugal and Spain also battling major fires.

The High Fens blaze broke out in an area that was ravaged by massive fires in 1911, during a similar period of heatwaves.

It is the country's largest wildfire since.

- After the flood, the fire -

Residents in the German border town of Monschau remain under evacuation orders, as do some from two Belgian villages.

Those based in the hamlet of Sourbrodt were given the green light to return home -- among them Monika Schieren, a 63-year-old tourist from a German town about an hour from the High Fens.

"We had to leave the house immediately -- 'evacuation now' -- and we couldn't take anything with us," she told AFP after driving back over the border to collect some of her belongings.

The wildfire comes five years after Schieren was forced to leave her home in Germany -- that time because floods were sweeping the area.

"We've already been through a flood once, and now our vacation is gone!" she lamented.

Like much of Europe, Belgium has experienced a new spell of intense heat and drought in recent days.

Temperatures reached as high as 37C in parts of the country last week, creating conditions conducive to wildfire outbreaks.

Z.Sanchez--SFF