2023-07-24 19:44:00
At least 34 people, including ten soldiers, died in violent fires that occurred in northeastern Algeria overnight from Sunday to Monday and are still ongoing, according to a new report published by the Ministry of the Interior on Monday evening.
A previous report reported 15 dead and 26 injured following the fires that affected about fifteen wilayas (prefectures) in the northeast of the country.
Soldiers found themselves surrounded by flames as they were evacuated from Beni Ksila, in the eastern prefecture of Béjaïa, accompanied by residents of neighboring hamlets, the Ministry of Defense said.
“About 300 inhabitants of the village of Melloula were evacuated by sea” as a precaution against strong gusts of wind fanning the fires, according to Houcem Eddine Jebabli, spokesperson for the Tunisian National Guard, who also mentioned many departures by land.
Between Sunday and Monday, Algeria recorded 97 fire starts in 16 prefectures, but the most violent fires affected Béjaïa,
Bouira and Jijel, had indicated the Ministry of the Interior in a press release.
Driven by very strong winds, they reached residential areas in these three prefectures where 1,500 people threatened by the flames were evacuated, according to the ministry.
“Green Numbers”
Local media images show burning fields and wooded areas, charred cars and burnt-out storefronts in villages completely destroyed by the flames.
Algeria is facing an intense heat wave in some affected regions, with temperature peaks at 48 degrees on Monday, which are helping to dry out vegetation, making it more vulnerable to fire outbreaks. In Tunisia, temperatures reached 49 degrees.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent his condolences to the families, referring to “civilian victims” but also “military”.
Some 8,000 civil protection agents and 525 trucks were still hard at work Monday evening in 11 wilayas, where fires which ravaged forests, scrubland and fields were still in progress according to the authorities.
Recently chartered fire-fighting planes and helicopters as well as a BE 200 high-capacity bomber intervened to drop water on the fires.
The Interior Ministry has called on citizens to “avoid the affected areas and use the toll-free numbers made available to make any reports” of fires.
The public prosecutor of Bejaïa ordered, according to a press release, the opening of preliminary investigations to determine the causes of the fires and identify possible perpetrators.
killer summer
Every summer, the north and east of Algeria are hit by forest, maquis and crop fires, a phenomenon that is increasing year by year under the effect of climate change, resulting in droughts and heat waves.
In August 2022, gigantic fires killed 37 in the region of El Tarf, in the northeast.
The summer of 2021 had been the deadliest in decades: more than 90 people had died in fires that devastated the north, in particular Kabylia.
The authorities had called for mobilization as summer approached.
At the end of April, President Tebboune ordered the acquisition of six medium-sized water bomber planes. Pending their arrival, the Ministry of the Interior announced in May the imminent purchase of a water bomber and the rental of six others in South America.
The authorities have also set up helicopter landing sites in 10 wilayas (prefectures) and mobilized locally made drones for surveillance and fire prevention.
Algeria had placed an order with Russia for four water bombers, but their delivery was delayed by the “repercussions of the crisis in Ukraine”, after the invasion of this country by Russia.
Algeria international fire fires
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