A member of the Civil Defense fighting a fire in Damour, south of Beirut, on July 12, 2022. (Courtesy of @CivilDefenseLB)
BEIRUT — A fire broke out on Tuesday in the Roumieh forest and is still ongoing. The Civil Defense recruited reinforcements from seven centers to contain the fire, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Here’s what we know:
• A Civil Defense spokesperson told L’Orient Today that the fire is big and is spreading quickly, but that the Civil Defense is trying to contain it as soon as possible, and thus have asked for reinforcement from other centers.
• The spokesperson also confirmed that until now no one has been injured as a result of the fire, and the reason behind the fire is still unknown, “but is probably a wildfire, which is common in July,” he added.
• In Tyr, South Lebanon, wild grass caught fire, and Civil Defense personnel brought the fire under control Tuesday morning.
• In the Chouf, a fire ravaged a field in the locality of Damour on Tuesday, before being brought under control. In Aley, trees and forest areas were affected before a fire was put out.
• Yesterday, another fire broke out in Roumieh and in Tripoli, which have since been put out.
• Monday evening, for the second time in less than a week, a fire broke out in the port of Beirut, however the Civil Defense spokesperson told L’Orient Today that they were not contacted to extinguish the fire.
• Caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassine, whose ministry had warned last Friday against the increased risk of fire in the middle of the dry season, said Monday that he was monitoring the situation with caretaker Defense Minister Maurice Slim and Director of Civil Defense Raymond Khattar.
• MP Elias Hankash (Kataeb/Metn) contacted the army command to ask them to send helicopters to help put out the fire Monday, which broke out in a place difficult to access for volunteers and the Civil Defense, in order "to avoid a new disaster in our forest."