Fire erupts along A7 near Marum where farmers protested on Saturday

A pile of hay and a few groups of trees caught fire on Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning on the Korige along the A7 between Marum and Frieschepalen. Fire stations from Frieschepalen and Ureterp were on the scene to extinguish the flames on Saturday, while firefighters from Marum, Roden and Groningen returned to the site on Sunday, according to Dagblad van het Noorden.

The blaze had spread to the nearby woods when the fire brigade arrived, according to Dagblad van het Noorden. Because of the remote location, it was difficult for the fire brigade to get sufficient water to extinguish the fire. On Sunday morning, the pile began to smoke once again and firefighters returned.

Images show that an inverted Dutch flag was place near the fire. The flag has become a symbol of the farmers' protests against the Dutch nitrogen policy in recent weeks. Farmers protested in Marum and several other locations on Thursday night, dumping piles of waste, according to the NOS.

The flaming pile was not the first along that stretch of the A7. According to Brandweer Marum, there was also a waste fire on the highway earlier in the day on Saturday, which slowed traffic in both directions and caused the exits at Frieschepalen to be blocked.