A total of 1,325 families from 19 villages have had to be evicted from their homes so far, according to sources close to local authorities.
With the support of reinforcements from the fire brigade and the armed forces, efforts were continuing last night to bring under control the fires which have been raging for four days in isolated forest areas in the north of Morocco.
About half the area of ​​the approx 46,600 acres that were charred are in the province of Laras, where the largest outbreak is located and where one person lost his life.
A total of 1,325 families from 19 villages have had to be evacuated from their homes so far, according to sources close to local authorities.
Reinforcements, army and fire brigade units, have been deployed since Friday in affected areas, especially in Xar el-Kebir, a hard-to-reach area that is among the hardest hit.
Thousands of hectares of forest were destroyed in the neighboring provinces of Ouezanne, Tetouan and Taza.
The flames are being fueled by very high temperatures, which remain around 40°C, and strong winds, despite redoubled firefighting efforts, however, more favorable weather conditions are raising hopes that there will be an abatement today.
The causes of fires are not yet known. The possibility that they were caused by humans, due to either negligence or arson, has not been ruled out, according to the authorities.
As well as four army Canadair firefighting aircraft and four Turbo Thrush aerial spraying aircraft, hundreds of members of the Kingdom’s Civil Protection, armed forces and gendarmerie, with the help of local authorities and volunteers, continue to struggle to control the fires
In comparison, a total of 27,820 hectares of forest were affected by 285 fires between January and September 2021 in Morocco, especially in the mountainous Rif region (north), according to the Directorate of Water and Forestry.
In recent days, Morocco has been hit by a heat wave with temperatures approaching 45° Celsius, against a backdrop of drought and water scarcity.
Across the Strait of Gibraltar, fires are raging across much of southern Europe, partly attributed to a heat wave that could break record temperatures early next week.
RES-EMP
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