Rabat – Wildfires have damaged about 200 hectares of forest containing pine, cork oak, and plant species in Chefchaouen, northern Morocco.
The firefighting teams are working to extinguish a fire that has broken out in the forest of Skana, between the Dardara and Tanakoub communities in the Chefchaouen province.
The regional director of water, forests, and combating desertification in the Chefchaouen province, Rahid El Anzi suggested that the fire would be harder to contain because of the weather conditions, referring to the high temperatures and the rugged geographical terrain in the region.
In the past few months, Morocco has experienced several heat waves. The latest heatwave has been ongoing since Thursday.
The highest temperature in the Chefchaouen region is between 39 and 45 degrees.
The control of wildfires is accomplished through field intervention by firefighters, forest technicians, and civil protection personnel.
The Royal Armed Forces and the Royal Gendarmerie, the auxiliary forces, and the national recovery agents have been deployed to the area in an effort to combat the raging wildfires.
Morocco also deployed four Canadair firefighting aircraft.
The fire’s origin has not yet been determined.
The fires did not result in any injuries or fatalities, El Anzi said, emphasizing that the intervention crew made every effort to keep the nearby population safe.
The local official stressed the importance of developing a proactive action plan to ensure that national efforts are launched in rapid response to contain fires.
“The Chefchaouen region is known for its vast forests with dense and diverse forest cover.”
The region is also known for its mountainous lands, which requires vigilance and efforts to preserve natural resources in the region.
Morocco’s Zagora and Eerfoud also experienced wildfires recently, which were controlled in record time by local authorities with the help of firefighting aircrafts.
Wildfires have become a global phenomenon as a result of frequent heat waves worldwide.
Greece, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, among other countries, have been experiencing heat waves recently, resulting in wildfires erupting across the countries.
Some of the wildfires were fatal, killing dozens of people.
