RTV Drenthe is reporting that a large heath fire is underway in the Drenthe town of Wateren.
Translation by Traci White
UPDATE: 8:50 p.m., Tuesday, 7 August
The fire is now under control and campers should be allowed to return to their camp sites after 9 p.m. According to Dagblad van het Noorden, around 75 hectares of land were burnt in the blaze.
UPDATE: 5:38, Tuesday, 7 August
A Chinook helicopter from the Royal Netherlands Air Force has been dispatched to Drenthe to help douse the fire. The helicopter was also utilised in Emmen last week to help fight a fire at a rubbish processing centre.
Royal Netherlands Air Force Boeing CH-47F Chinook (callsign: GRZLY82) inbound Wateren (Drenthe) due to a wildfire. #Wateren #Heidebrand #Drenthe pic.twitter.com/d8mNOpG24O
— Scannernet.nl (@Scannernet) August 7, 2018
UPDATE: 3:15 p.m., Tuesday, 7 August
Nieuws-112.nl reports that around six or seven hectares of land are currently on fire. A strong wind is causing the fire to spread rapidly, and heavy smoke is developing in the area. Several nearby recreational areas and homes have been evacuated, as well as a number of horses at nearby farms. Fire departments from Friesland and Groningen are also responding to help fight the fire.
Original story below:
Wateren is about 20 miles southwest of Assen and is located on the border of Friesland and Drenthe. According to RTV Drenthe, a number of camp sites in the vicinity of the fire have been evacuated and there are at least eight fire engines responding to the blaze.
Heidebrand #Wateren en flinke wind… pic.twitter.com/aB5Wz5jQjs
— Marco Westenbrink (@jmwestenbrink) August 7, 2018
According to a Twitter user near the site, strong winds are exacerbating the fire. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Dagblad van het Noorden reports that the first responders arrived on the scene around 1:30 on Tuesday afternoon and that local farmers were also helping to try and douse the fire
Photo source: @jmwestenbrink/Twitter
