Belgium, Europe– The Governor (gouverneur) of the province of Antwerp made an announcement on temporarily banning smoking and lighting campfires in all nature reserves.
As per the sources, this decision has been taken place in all of the nature reserves, moors, as well as the forests in the city of Belgium, Antwerp.
In one of the reports on Wednesday, May 4, the Governor mentioned that the ban is important due to the current drought, which creates a rise in the risk of fire.
Moreover, Berx said in the statement that “In 2021, the first smoke and fire ban of that year was announced in the province of Antwerp on April 24, following the devastating fire at the Groot Schietveld in Brecht.”
In the current year, the Flemish Agency for Nature and Forests (ANB) declared “Code orange” for the risk of fire in the province of Antwerp on April 20, which means that lighting is a fire is prohibited as well as children cannot be left unattended on site.
Along with this, Berx further mentioned in the statement, “It will be very dry in Antwerp this spring, which unfortunately also means an increased risk of wildfires. So be vigilant and alert for fire in nature and for anything that can cause a fire.”
In addition, the Nature managers and the firefighters are also asked to be extremely vigilant, as well as the firefighters will come out with more equipment and personnel than usual if a wildfire breaks out.
Furthermore, Berx said that a bit of rain is expected in the upcoming days, and the risk of wildfires will only be increased.