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Dutch authorities evacuate Kempen Airport as wildfires break out near military training areas

By Thomson Reuters Apr 30, 2026 | 10:05 AM

AMSTERDAM, April 30 (Reuters) – Dutch authorities evacuated an airport in the south of the Netherlands on Thursday after a ​large wildfire broke out near ‌a military training area, officials said. It is the latest in a series of blazes amid exceptionally dry conditions in the country.

* The fire ‌erupted ​near a military training ⁠site in the north ⁠of the province of Limburg.

* Kempen Airport is among the Netherlands’ busiest general aviation airports.

* About 40 kilometres to the ​east, close to the German-Dutch border, another fire erupted on Thursday, also ⁠near a military training ⁠area.

* The fire brigade is trying ​to contain both fires, local safety authorities ​said.

* On Wednesday, a separate blaze was ‌reported near a military training site in the north of the country.

* A spokesperson for the national gendarmerie force Marchesaussee ⁠said it was investigating the cause of the fires.

* He added it was too early to ⁠draw a ‌link between the three fires ⁠and military activities taking place ​at ‌the sites when the blazes started.

* ​The Netherlands ⁠has seen hardly any rainfall for weeks, making this April one of the driest on record and heightening the risk of wildfires.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by ​Toby Chopra)