Firefighters are battling a major wildfire in Belgium’s High Fens nature reserve, described by officials as the country’s largest in recent history. The fire has destroyed around a third of the reserve, forced evacuations from two nearby villages and raised fears that flames could reach homes.

The blaze has been burning since Friday and remained out of control on Saturday afternoon, complicated by shifting winds and difficult bog, moorland and forest terrain. Belgium has requested European assistance, with Swedish water-bombing aircraft and Czech and Dutch helicopters expected, while wildfires are also affecting France, Croatia, Spain and Serbia after extreme summer heat.