Junior defence minister Derk Boswijk has promised to revise the rules for military exercises in dry weather, as the wildfire at the ’t Harde army training ground in Gelderland has continued to burn into its third day.
Boswijk’s pledge comes a day after defence chief Onno Eichelsheim defended the decision to keep training, telling reporters extra precautions had been taken but a full pause was not necessary. Speaking on the morning programme Goedemorgen Nederland, Boswijk said the protocols would be updated “before we start training with open fire again”, citing longer dry spells as a feature of the Dutch climate.
Mayor Raymond Vlecken of Weert, where one of four wildfires on military training grounds in the past two days destroyed an estimated 80 hectares of heath, said on NPO Radio 1 he was incredulous at Eichelsheim’s stance. “You should have seen the disbelief on my face. It needs to be thought through carefully”.
Vlecken said he would raise the matter with Boswijk in person, though he had since been told the defence ministry’s “message had been adjusted slightly”.
Multiple pockets still burning
At ’t Harde, where some 500 hectares of heath and forest have already burned, multiple pockets of fire are still active as of Friday afternoon, the regional safety board said. The defence helicopter command deployed two Chinook transport helicopters with water buckets to support around 100 fire officers on the ground.
A safety board spokesman said no foreign units had been sent to ’t Harde yet, but he could not rule it out. A German contingent of 21 fire trucks and 67 officers, due to arrive later on Friday, is expected to head first to Oirschot in Noord-Brabant, where another military fire is still being dampened down.
In Weert, an emergency ordinance remains in force around the burning area. Residents have been told to stay indoors and drone flights over the site are banned.
Belgian shooting ban
In Belgium, where similar drought conditions apply, the army has banned all live ammunition use at its Helchteren and Brecht ranges for the past week under a “code red” alert, Flemish media report.
Eichelsheim said this week the Dutch armed forces had already scaled back the use of pyrotechnics, heat-producing ammunition and outdoor cooking. The military police are still investigating whether the exercises caused any of the four fires.
The military trade union VBM has backed the defence chief’s position, arguing the chance of fire is small given existing safeguards. A second union, AFMP, said the safety of firefighters and local residents must also be weighed in the calculation.
