Firefighters battle massive wildfires in Belgium and Greece as 2 die on an island near Athens

Key Points:

• A massive wildfire in eastern Belgium's High Fens nature reserve burned about 12 square miles, prompting evacuation of 600 residents and deployment of over 250 emergency personnel, including international firefighting support from Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.
• In Greece, two people died in wildfires on the island of Salamina near Athens, where strong winds and dry conditions caused rapid fire spread, with around 260 firefighters and multiple aircraft involved in containment and evacuation efforts.
• The Belgian wildfire surpassed the country's previous largest fire from 2011, fueled by unusually dry soil and hot weather, with firefighting efforts focusing on preventing the fire from spreading toward residential areas and the German border.
• Other European countries are also battling wildfires amid a heatwave and drought, including southwestern France where 6.5 square miles of pine forest burned and 650 people were evacuated, and the U.K., where 14 wildfires in South Wales required military support despite easing heat.
• In Germany, firefighters contained a wildfire in the Hürtgen Forest, allowing evacuated residents to return home as crews established a cleared perimeter to prevent further spread.