Firefighters quell 'numerous flare-ups' in Belgian wildfire

Firefighters wrestled "numerous flare-ups" under control overnight in a final push to quell Belgium's massive High Fens wildfire, officials said Thursday, pushing into a seventh day despite "dangerous" conditions on site.

Strong winds buffeted southeastern Belgium Wednesday night, with gusts uprooting trees and a "mini-tornado" partially destroying a house in Bullange just outside the nature reserve, the town's mayor told local media.

An update from local authorities said fire crews worked all-night "but were limited by the dangerous terrain: lack of visibility, trees downed by the storm, mud and hard-to-access trails."

"Numerous flare-ups had to be brought under control," it added in a statement -- with the blaze smouldering underground in the peaty soil of the park near the German border.

But the around 200 firefighters deployed on site still appeared to be gaining the upper hand against Belgium's biggest wildfire in a century.

Authorities have lifted the last remaining evacuation orders in the border region, and Germany's contingent of firefighters was to start pulling out Thursday, the statement said.

Crisis cell spokesman Tony Hosmans told AFP the German drawdown would at this stage be offset with Belgian firefighters, including volunteers -- keeping overall numbers constant.

A helicopter reconnaissance mission would soon fly out to determine priorities for the next stage in the fight, Hosmans said, with improved weather expected to allow "substantial" air support.

On-site operations have been complicated by the fens' terrain -- a patchwork of heath, peat bogs and raised wooden boardwalks.

Aircraft flown in to help from Norway, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands had been pinned on the ground by low-hanging clouds, but they resumed dropping water again Wednesday.

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 blazes.

The High Fens fire grew over the weekend to half the size of Manhattan -- 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) -- charring a huge expanse of peatland, pine trees and hiking trails.

The blaze broke out for reasons still unknown 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.

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