Recurring forest fire in Akkar al-Atiqa 'almost under control'

BEIRUT — A recurring forest fire in Akkar al-Atiqa, northern Lebanon, is almost fully under control after two consecutive days of burning, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the north reported Sunday.

The fire has "exhausted the efforts of firefighting teams from Civil Defense, the Darb Akkar Association [an environmental organization] and local residents. They have spent their second night battling the blaze with limited resources and basic tools, striving to prevent the fires from spreading further across new areas of green cover in the dense pine and oak forests of this very rugged region," our correspondent reported.

Large Civil Defense vehicles are continuing to secure water supplies to support the smaller firefighting vehicles brought in by the Darb Akkar Association, which are capable of penetrating deeper into these forests along the narrow and rough dirt paths, our correspondent added.

Multiple wildfires have broken out in northern Lebanon over the weekend, including a blaze in the forests of Jourat al-Nabaa and al-Zawarib that firefighters were still battling Saturday evening, as well as a fire on Tallet al-Manshara, which was brought under control overnight Friday to Saturday.

A Lebanese Army helicopter assisted Saturday afternoon in extinguishing some of the burning areas that firefighting teams could not reach.

Wildfires are a recurring issue in Lebanon, especially during the hot, dry summer months. The causes of these latest fires are unclear, but the combination of drought and high temperatures creates ideal conditions for such blazes to spread rapidly. The rugged terrain of the Akkar region also makes it challenging for firefighters to access and extinguish the flames in some areas. Ongoing environmental and climatic pressures contribute to the increasing frequency and severity of these damaging wildfires in Lebanon.

Recently, George Mitri, ​​advisor to the environment minister and director of the Land and Natural Resources Program at the Environment Institute at the University of Balamand, told L'Orient Today that the risk of wildfires in Lebanon is "higher" this year compared to previous years, making this fire season "more difficult."

Globally, temperatures are on the rise. April 2024 was Earth's warmest April on record, with global temperatures averaging 1.32 degrees Celsius above the 20th-century norm, marking the 11th consecutive month of record-high global temperatures, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak