Forest fires killed two people and injured several in Sétif in northern Algeria, a region that had experienced particularly deadly fires last summer, Civil Protection said on Monday (June 27th).
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Two people aged 25 and 40 died and 14 others, including two children, were burned to varying degrees and suffered from breathing difficulties, added the same source, adding that a firefighter was among the injured.
The fire broke out on agricultural land on Sunday and quickly spread to orchards and around houses in the region because of the wind and the heat, said the Civil Protection quoted by the APS agency.
In mid-June, two people died in forest fires in Skikda, also in northern Algeria, according to the media.
The largest country in Africa, Algeria has only 4.1 million hectares of forest, with a meager reforestation rate of 1.76%.
Each year, the north of the country is affected by forest fires, but this phenomenon is increasing.
The summer of 2021 has been the deadliest.
At least 90 people died in forest fires that ravaged the north of the country where more than 100,000 hectares of copses went up in smoke.
Climate warming increases the likelihood of heat waves and droughts and, in turn, fires.