A fire near Qobeiyat, Akkar, in Lebanon’s north. (Credit: Antoine Daher)
BEIRUT — Wildfires raged across north Lebanon on Wednesday, claiming the life of a 15-year-old boy and sending residents fleeing the area as officials pled for international help to battle the blazes.
The 15-year-old died after falling and hitting his head while helping battle a fire in the area of Kfartoun, the state-run National News Agency reported.
In heavily affected Qobeiyat, Akkar, 17 people had to evacuate their homes, the town’s mayor, Abdo Abdo, told L’Orient Today. “While the majority of the fire [here] has been put out, [some residents] are still afraid to settle back in just yet,” he said in the evening.
Earlier in the afternoon, authorities scrambled resources, including a helicopter from the army, to help fight the fires, but the state’s volunteer Civil Defense teams were reportedly hamstrung in their efforts to douse the blazes due to a lack of adequate equipment.
Civil Defense could not immediately be reached to confirm the account, but a spokesperson told Annahar that its crews had only been able to put out 60 percent of the fire.
As the fire raged on, caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab asked for help from Cyprus to battle the blazes, one of which by evening had grown to some 7 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide in places, the NNA said.
“I feel so lucky that my family and I are still alive,” said Yara Abdo, a resident of Akkar. “We had to live through the same situation two years ago, but this year, the threat was amplified and the fire had literally swallowed the whole neighborhood.”
In October 2019, wildfires devastated swaths of Lebanon, leading to public outcry over the government’s failure to prepare and respond to the disaster. Days later, after a new tax was announced, thousands took to the streets in anger at politicians, beginning a mass uprising against the elite.
Earlier this month, the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute warned of the “very high” potential of forest fires owing to the ongoing heat wave. This week, 150 communities are at high risk, according to the government’s Impact platform, mostly in Mount Lebanon and the north of the country.