Both Germany and France said they would contribute specialist equipment and manpower after the Netherlands was hit by several major fires, several of which were located on army training grounds.

Three trucks from Belgium have also been involved in fighting a fire on the Weerter heather fields near Budel in Limburg. They have been dampening down the peaty ground to prevent fire flaring up again, local media said.

Dutch fire chief Anton Slofstra said it is the first time the Netherlands has appealed for help using the EU system. The crews from abroad will relieve Dutch firefighters who have been working round the clock to put out the fires, stretching capacity to its limits.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Kempen airport, which was closed on Thursday because of the fire, told local broadcaster Omroep Brabant that it had warned the defence ministry several times about the fire risk in recent months.

The fire, which was brought under control on Thursday evening, destroyed an estimated 70 hectares of heath and woodland.

“We have been worried about it for months,” the spokesman said. “They practice with grenades and explosives and shoot ammunition. That can all lead to fire. We have said for some time that such exercises do not combine with an airport and industry.”

Army chief Onno Eichelsheim said on Thursday that measures had been taken to offset the impact of the drought. “We are not allowed to use pyrotechnic equipment and take part in some exercises,” he told broadcaster NOS. The rules have been tightened up again, he said, but military exercises would continue.

Eichelsheim also said that the protocols for military exercises needed to be reviewed, given the impact of climate change.

NOS reported on Thursday that 124 of the 846 wildfires which were registered in 2025 were on military grounds. Of them, 120 were in the Noord en Oost-Gelderland safety board area, where ‘t Harde is based.

Last year, 76 hectares on a military base near Ede were also destroyed by fire caused by a practice grenade. The causes of the recent spate have not yet been established.

Fires are a fact of life

Meanwhile, fire brigade wildfire specialist Jelmer Dam has told the Volkskrant in an interview that fires are now a fact of life in the Netherlands. “Long spells of drought are part of every weather model,” he said.

“There is a link between drought and this sort of fire. We see flare-ups every day, even in winter. But if the grass is wet, you don’t notice anything. A hot car exhaust pipe does nothing if the grass is wet, but you will get a fire if it is dry and arid.”