Fouad Assali, director of the National Center for Climate Risk Management, told AFP that firefighters and the military in Morocco were trying to control at least four fires that have spread in forested areas in the country’s north on Thursday.
Forest fires caused by strong winds have not resulted in any injuries so far, but they have caused the evacuation of nearly 500 families in Larche and Taze areas.
Asali explained that forest fires caused by strong winds occurred in the northern provinces of Larache, Ouzan, Tetouan and Taza.
According to the AFP news agency, a number of villages were evacuated and four “Kanadar” water jets belonging to the army were operating over the areas where the fire broke out near Kasr al-Kabir area on Thursday afternoon. .
Villagers, caught off guard by the fire’s spread, quickly left their homes in the sweltering temperatures, and some were able to take their cows and horses with them.
The flames destroyed a “small village in the Kasar al-Kabir region,” and Asali said, according to MAP, efforts are continuing “with the hope of containing these fires in the coming hours.”
According to the preliminary assessment of AFP, the fires have destroyed thousands of hectares of forests in the provinces of Larache and Owazan since Wednesday evening.
According to local authorities in Uzan province, firefighting operations are still ongoing to control the forest fire that has engulfed more than 170 hectares of forest area consisting of local vegetation, pine trees and other fruit trees. “Hespers” website.
According to “Hespers”, a fire in Larache province destroyed about 800 hectares of forest cover, which consisted mainly of cotton oak trees and secondary plants.
Hundreds of members of the Civil Defense, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and the Gendarmerie, with the support of local authorities, are participating in the firefighting effort.
A few days ago, Morocco faced a heat wave with temperatures close to 45 degrees Celsius, in conditions of exceptional drought and lack of water.
“It’s the heat that causes this kind of fire,” Ahmed Mazour, 58, a resident of Larache, told AFP. The fire reached our village at dawn yesterday, but we are sure that the firefighters will put it out.
He added: “We are afraid for our homes. The neighboring village is completely surrounded by fire. The residents were evacuated by the firemen. So far we are safe from the fire.”
Source: Lebanon Debate
