Moroccan fire services intensified their efforts on Wednesday to control the forest fires that, whipped by violent winds, took over the north of the country, according to local authorities.
In the province of Larache, south of Tangier, the most affected, the intervention teams, supported by the army, are making an effort to circumscribe the houses that are still active and protect the threatened villages.
Three Canadair water bombers made 25 rotations during the day. And 935 families, from 15 douares (villages), had to be preventively evacuated.
Four dead since mid-July
Meanwhile, in the neighboring region of Fahs Anjra, near Tangier, rescuers managed to subdue a forest fire and began cleaning up the fire-affected areas, local authorities said.
Another claim was on the way to being completely circumscribed in a forest in the province of Taounate, also in the north. Nearly 50 hectares of vegetal cover (pines, eucalyptus and liege oaks) were destroyed. In addition, some 160 hectares of forest cover were destroyed in the neighboring region of Tetouan, according to a provisional balance.
If this Wednesday no victim has been deplored, the fires that spread through the north of the kingdom have left four dead since mid-July.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, the total area recently affected by forest fires in various regions of northern Morocco reaches 10,300 hectares.
For comparison, 2,782 hectares of forest had been destroyed by 285 fires from January to September 2021, particularly in the Rif Mountain region (north).
Source: BFM TV
