The fire which destroyed hectares of land last week at a National Park in Flanders was started deliberately, the Limburg Public Prosecutor's office announced on Monday.
The fire broke out last Thursday in the Mechelse Heide area at the Hoge Kempen National Park. It destroyed 50 hectares of heathland and scrub.
On Friday, suspicions arose that the fire had started under suspicious circumstances, prompting the Prosecutor's Office to appoint a fire investigator and the forensic laboratory.
"Initial findings by the fire expert indicate that there were four sources of the fire and that malicious intent was involved. The investigation into one or more suspects is continuing," said a spokesperson for the Limburg public prosecutor's office, Anna Degraen.
A total of twelve forest fire engines were deployed to address the fire. Numerous tankers from various fire stations, including from the North and South-West Limburg emergency services, also arrived on site to supply water.
Drones were deployed to get an overview of the large wildfire. By around 01:00 on Friday morning, the fire had been extinguished, but mop-up operations were still ongoing.
As part of a training exercise, a Federal Police helicopter assisted in extinguishing the fire. No one was injured during the fire and no homes were threatened.
On Friday, the Agency for Nature and Forests announced that grass would grow back on the burnt areas within two weeks, but there were fears for animals that had not survived, such as birds' nests on the ground and smooth snakes.
The heathland in the destroyed areas will need time to recover in the coming months.
Initially, it was said that 75 hectares had gone up in flames, but on Friday this was revised to 50 hectares.
