The month of August saw five major wildfires destroying forests and oases in northern and southern Moroccan provinces.
Rabat – Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR) are leading efforts to put out a wildfire that started in the Al Hrarech forest near the Fahs-Anjra province, 25 kilometers from Tangier.
Local authorities said the fire began yesterday at 4 a.m. in the commune of Al Bahraoyine, damaging dozens of hectares of vegetation. Al Hrarech forest consists primarily of Aleppo pine trees.
FAR coordinated with Civil Protection units to deploy Canadair planes, seven tank trucks, and more vehicles from the Moroccan High Commission of Water and Forests.
The Fahs-Anjra province experienced a similar wildfire in September 2016, destroying over 196 hectares of forest.
Northern Morocco saw two wildfires last month. A fire in the Al Haouz al Mellaliyin forest in M’diq on August 1 damaged more than 1,000 hectares of forest.
Local authorities of Al Haouz extinguished the fire with the help of local residents, Civil Protection members, and the General Directorate of Water and Forests.
On August 25, a wildfire broke out in the Akesmae forest in the town of Bab Berred near Chefchaouen, ravaging over 300 hectares.
In total, Morocco endured five major wildfires in August, affecting forests and oases, due to heatwaves and dry conditions. Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM) detailed the potentially dangerous conditions in a red-level meteorological bulletin on August 25.
DGM announced that temperatures will reach up to 47 degrees Celsius in several provinces, accompanied by warm sirocco winds, known in Morocco as “chergui,” another factor that adds to the risk of wildfires.
Soon after the notice, a fire broke out on August 27 at the Ghiraya State Forest near Marrakech.
Two oases in southern Morocco also fell victim to wildfires.
Fires killed livestock in an oasis 10 kilometers from Guelmim in the rural town of Asrir.
On August 30, hot weather fueled another fire in a date oasis in the province of Aoufous, near Errachidia. The fire, which destroyed several hectares of the oasis, coincided with the region’s date harvest.
