Dozens of hectares of forests in Khenchela, in the Aurès massif (north-eastern Algeria), were destroyed by a fire which broke out on Sunday, Civil Protection said Monday (July 5th).
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More than 200 firefighters, supported by forest rangers, have been mobilized since Sunday to fight the disaster in the forest of Aïn Mimoun, located in the town of Tamza. This forest is home to thousands of trees of various species, according to the Directorate of Civil Protection of the wilaya (prefecture) of Khenchela, cited by the official APS agency.
Soldiers, gendarmes and volunteers went to the scene to participate in the fight against the flames and help evacuate the families living in the perimeter of the fire, consisting of several homes, according to the same source. Two helicopters were dispatched to the scene as well as Civil Protection reinforcements from five neighboring wilayas (prefectures), according to local television. These seasonal forest fires are spread by wind and heat waves. The security services have opened an investigation to determine the origin of the disaster, said APS.
In 2020, several arsonists were arrested by the authorities following forest fires.
The largest country in Africa, Algeria has only 4.1 million hectares of forests, with a meager reforestation rate of 1.76%.
Every year, the country is affected by forest fires.
In 2020, nearly 44,000 hectares of coppice went up in smoke.
The fires that are increasing across the globe are associated with various phenomena anticipated by scientists due to global warming.
The increase in temperature, the increase in heat waves and the drop in precipitation in places is an ideal combination for the development of fires.