Civil Defense fights fires across Lebanon on second day of heat wave

BEIRUT — Civil Defense firefighting teams battled dozens of fires across Lebanon on Friday, on the second day of a major heatwave that is expected to last a whole week.

A major fire broke out in the Nahr al-Joz Valley, on the outskirts of the villages of Btaaboura and Kaftoun in Koura district, as well as in Baqseema and Kfar Hay in Batroun district, while in Jbeil district's Lasa and North Lebanon's Tripoli areas, more fires broke out.

Civil Defense was fighting fires in Beirut, and in Shikhlar, Rshadbin, Ain Akrin, Ehden and Batroun, all in Batroun district, as well as in Rahbeh, Takrit in Akkar district and Makseh in the Bekaa, while in the South, fires broke out and were brought under control in Sour district's Jibbayn, in the Chouf (between al-Mghayriya and al-Jamiliya).

Amid its mass deployment across nearly every region in Lebanon, Civil Defense renewed urgent warnings against residents lighting fires in plains and forests.

Significant numbers of Civil Defense firefighters were deployed in Nahr al-Joz Valley, but their operations were hindered by steep roads, rough terrain, strong winds and a lack of nearby water sources. Early Friday evening, Civil Defense detailed its operations, "protecting the Kaftoun forests from a devastating disaster," which it said had started around 11:30 a.m. and were ongoing.

"To speed up operations, a Lebanese Army helicopter was deployed, while an artificial basin was created in a yard near the Kfar Hatta center to provide the necessary water for the aircraft," the statement detailed.

While its teams were at work in Koura, Civil Defense was also called to fight fires in Lasa and Meshrefeh, in Aley district, "where efforts continue to contain the flames as quickly as possible despite the difficult conditions on the ground."

Firefighters from the Tripoli center succeeded in controlling a fire that broke out in a room of a building in the al-Majdoub neighborhood, "preventing the fire from spreading to nearby floors."

"This incident caused 16 cases of smoke inhalation, all treated on site, while three people were transported to the hospital for treatment," according to Civil Defense.