Huge fire in Aito extinguished

NORTH LEBANON — Firefighters from the civil defense extinguished on Sunday night a huge wildfire that broke out in the village of Aito (Zgharta district), according to our correspondent. The fire had first broke out on Saturday, before reigniting on Sunday.

The civil defense announced on Monday that it extinguished the fire around midnight on Sunday night, "following two days of fires that burned large areas of forest."

"Firefighting teams from the civil defense, army helicopters, local volunteers and the Darb Akkar team are continuing cooling and monitoring operations to prevent the flames from reigniting," the civil defense stated.

On Sunday afternoon, our correspondent had reported that the fire was out of control, as Lebanese Army helicopters, local residents, and volunteers from the Darb Akkar team were assisting the civil defense in extinguishing the wildfire.

The fire had reignited on Sunday with greater intensity due to high temperatures and dry winds.

In light of the difficult situation, environmental activists, cited by our correspondent, say on Sunday that has become urgent to establish a specialized, advanced firefighting center in this "forest-surrounded" area, equipped with the personnel and vehicles needed for rapid intervention and to protect property and forests from the risk of wildfires.

Many wildfires took place earlier this month as a result of high temperatures caused by a heat wave that lasted until mid-August. Despite a decrease in temperatures over the week-end, the Directorate of Environment and Meteorology at the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority warned on Saturday of strong wind speeds expected in the coming days.