A fire that erupted in Bisri village in the Chouf, Sept. 14, 2023. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — A brush fire in the village of Khirbet Bisri, in the Chouf region, erupted Thursday and was spreading across several hundred dunums of land, local mukhtar Shafik Eid told L'Orient Today, as a long, dry summer season threatens wildfires countrywide.
Civil Defense vehicles as well as a Lebanese army helicopter were sent to the village to help put out the fire, which Eid added was far from access roads that would allow large firefighting vehicles to enter.
A previous large fire in 2022 burnt 500 dunums of brush just outside Khirbet Bisri, the mukhtar said.
The fire season started early this summer, due to drought and high temperatures. Recent weeks have seen near-daily wildfires in Lebanon, particularly in the densely forested Akkar governorate.