Fears are mounting that unexploded WWII munitions buried in Belgium’s High Fens could detonate as underground peat fires continue to smoulder following the country’s worst wildfires in recent history.
The blaze, which tore through roughly 30 square kilometers (12 square miles) of the nature reserve, has burned deep into peat layers, forestry officer Yves Pieper said.
Since the area was a Battle of the Bulge battleground, old ammunition remains buried there; an explosion did occur 15 years ago, though none has been reported since.
Burning “without oxygen and without smoke,” the fire could resurface in coming weeks or months.
About 600 residents near Waimes and Bütgenbach, in Liège province near the German border, were evacuated on Saturday (15 August).
