Strabrechtse Heide

The Strabrechtse Heide is a natural heathland area about 1500 ha in size, located in the municipalities of Heeze-Leende, Someren and Geldrop-Mierlo, in North Brabant, the Netherlands.

[2] The eastern part of the area that lies in the municipality of Someren was originally called Lieropsche Heide, after the village of Lierop.

In the nineteenth century, both it and the Strabrechtse Heide proper were part of a larger heathland area between the valleys of the Kleine Dommel and the Aa rivers.

The roadway was at one point completely covered in smoke and the flames were even able to reach across to the median and then to other side of the road, igniting the dry grass there too in a few places.

The fire took several days to master, and over a week to put out completely, and destroyed about 200 hectares of forest and heathland, over ten percent of the total area.