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France and Germany Send Teams as Dutch Wildfires Persist on Military Ranges

EU support highlights the strain drought-driven fires place on Dutch crews.

Un pompier lutte contre un feu de forêt près de Budel, au lendemain de son déclenchement sur un terrain d'entraînement militaire,le 1er mai 2026 aux Pays-Bas
Vue aérienne du site d'un incendie, qui a ravagé la veille un camp d'entraînement militaire, dans le village de Harde, dans l'est des Pays-Bas, le 30 avril 2026
Un feu de forêt près de Budel, au lendemain de son déclenchement sur un terrain d'entraînement militaire,le 1er mai 2026 aux Pays-Bas
Des pompiers interviennent sur un feu de forêt à Oirschotse Heide, près d'un terrain militaire, à Oirschot, dans la province du Brabant-Septentrional, le 30 avril 2026 aux Pays-Bas

Overview

  • The Netherlands received EU firefighting reinforcements Friday as France sent 41 personnel with 10 vehicles and the Bonn fire service deployed 67 firefighters with 21 vehicles.
  • The blaze on the army artillery range at 't Harde, which began Wednesday during a military exercise, remains active and officials say full extinction could take days.
  • Several new fires broke out Thursday on military grounds near Weert and Oirschot, with roughly 70 and 65 hectares burned, and local authorities evacuated the Kempen civil airport under an alert level 3 classification.
  • The Royal Marechaussee opened investigations at Oirschot and 't Harde to determine whether live-fire training sparked the blazes.
  • Officials reported stretched capacity with several large fires and only one helicopter team available, and the armed forces adopted extra precautions for training without suspending exercises.