
Fire in Srar landfill in Akkar, northern Lebanon on 23 June 2024. (Courtesy of Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Fires erupted Sunday in piles of waste disposed of at the Srar landfill, 25 km from Tripoli in northern Lebanon, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the north reported. Our correspondent added that the landfill is managed by the Amana waste treatment company and receives waste from most municipalities and villages in the Akkar area.
The fire has spiraled out of control, with strong winds and high temperatures expanding the blaze; the plumes of smoke, laden with foul odors, have widened, and can be seen from various areas in Akkar, our correspondent reported.
Fire in Srar landfill in Akkar, northern Lebanon on 23 June 2024. (Courtesy of Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
Residents are calling on the army to send helicopters to help contain the flames, according to our correspondent.
Adjacent to the landfill lies a waste sorting plant, which was funded some time ago by an EU grant but remains non-operational, our correspondent reported.
Residents have reportedly urgently appealed to authorities to swiftly tackles the blazes, which threatens the health and safety of locals and overall environmental wellbeing of the region.
Fire in Srar landfill in Akkar, northern Lebanon on 23 June 2024. (Courtesy of Michel Hallak/L'Orient Today)
Civil Defense vehicles from various centers in the Akkar plain have been dispatched to extinguish the massive fire spreading through the landfill and the grasslands nearby.
Additionally, machinery from the International Amana Company began efforts to establish a soil barrier around the sorting plant to protect it, especially as it is in direct contact with the large fire.
When temperatures rise Lebanon both wildfires and landfills fires break out regularly.
Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak