Photo of the fire that broke out in Ehden (North Lebanon) on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Photo courtesy of our correspondent Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — Saturday was a particularly strenuous day for firefighters in Lebanon. On top of ongoing Israeli bombings, at at least nine forest fires not related to airstrikes broke out in five different regions in the country. Fires were burning in North Lebanon, on the border between Metn and Kesrouan, and in Chouf and Aley districts.
The fire in northern Lebanon broke out for reasons unknown in a pine forest between Jabal al-Sine, near Ehden, in Zghorta district. People living nearby called in the Lebanese Army almost immediately, which showed up with its fleet of firefighting helicopters and managed to, alongside Civil Defense, extinguish the fire before it spread.
The fire that broke out in Metn, near the road leading to Jeita Grotto, managed to spread before army helicopters and Civil Defense could get the flames under control, getting dangerously close to some nearby homes. While the flames have stopped spreading, Civil Defense is still working to full extinguish them.
A huge fire burned for days earlier this week in Rabweh, also in Metn, leaving large swaths of the valley blackened and scorching three of its hills. For three days, a thick snake of smoke could be seen from the capital, rising up from the valley and obscuring nearby mountains tops. A source in the Civil Defense claimed the fire, aggravated by high winds and dry October weather, was the result of human activity, but there has been no evidence to prove this hypothesis.
"October is a month much feared by the Civil Defense, especially in the absence of rainfall," the source said. "The vegetation is very dry, and the wind is generally quite strong. It's also a time when farmers clean up their land and set fire to it. All it takes is a cigarette or a poorly extinguished flame, and a fire can get out of control."
The fire between Qobeit and Hrar, where the districts of North Lebanon and Akkar meet, started on Friday and was still raging in full force Saturday morning. "The fire has spread and smoke has covered the surrounding villages," Civil Defense said in a statement. "It's catastrophic." The fire have gotten dangerously close to nearby homes and service stations.
Civil Defense firefighting teams were first to respond to the fire, and as they waited for army helicopters to arrive, they were left with only their small firefighting vehicles and hand-held extinguishers. The terrain in that area is rugged and the wind was strong, aggravating a fire that was said to have broken out quite suddenly.
Even once the helicopters had arrived, working on the flames in tandem with on-the-ground crews, rescuers were "finding it very difficult to contain the fire." Civil Defense and the army have been joined by members of the Akkar Trail Association and the Union of Municipalities of the Akkar Jurd to fight the fire, which has spread significantly, and neighboring municipalities have also sent help.
As flames edge closer, some residents of Qobeit have been forced to leave their homes.
The head of the Baakline regional Civil Defense center, Nabih Said Saab, told L'Orient Today that at least five other fires broke out between Friday and Saturday in several areas in the Chouf and Aley regions, including one in Bireh, another between Hasrout and Gharifem, a third in Maasser Beiteddine, and two others in Aghmod and Beghdane, which broke out on Friday.
Firefighters from the various local fire stations had been backed up by their colleagues from Beirut, Saab said, adding that the fires in Chouf and Aley were all either extinguished or under control. The Civil Defense source also reported other fires in the Chouf, towards Amatour and Batloun.
And, as the war persists, ongoing devastation to Lebanon's environment as Israeli bombardments cause fires across the south and east of the country and have been for more than a year now.
Reporting contributed by L'Orient Today's correspondent in the north, Michel Hallak.
