The unusually high summer temperatures of last year caused a spike in fire brigade call-outs, the national statistics agency CBS has said.

The number of call-outs for roadside fires in 2018 went up by 70% to almost 4,000. Forest and heath fires accounted for around 1,000 call-outs, almost double that of 2017. Forest fires increased three-fold, with 360 call-outs.

Roadside fires and forest and heath fires occurred predominantly in regions with large nature reserves, such as Brabant and Gelderland, which were particularly hard hit in the third quarter when temperatures soared and there was little or no rain.