End of the ordeal for the Algerians. “Most” of the fires that have affected the country for less than a week “are under control and do not represent any danger for the inhabitants”, announced the Directorate General of Civil Protection (DGPC). “More than 74 fires have been extinguished during the last 24 hours” in several regions of northern Algeria, where gigantic forest fires have left more than 90 dead and missing, according to the authorities.
The efforts of the Civil Protection units are currently focused on “the protection of residential areas, particularly in the wilayas of Al Tarf, Béjaïa, Jijel and Tizi Ouzou,” Colonel Farouk Achour told public radio. -director in charge of communication of the DGPC. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Thursday that most of the fires were of “criminal” origin and announced that 22 suspects had been arrested.
Still 19 active households
“Civil protection teams continue to fight 19 fires in 10 wilayas (prefectures), including six in Bejaïa and three in El Tarf,” Civil Protection said in a statement released in the middle of the day. On the other hand, she added that there were only two fires to control in Tizi-Ouzou, a region of Kabylia which recorded the biggest fires and the most important human losses.
To fight the flames, the army mobilized five Russian Mi-26 helicopters in addition to three water bomber helicopters from the Algerian civil protection. The Algerian authorities were also able to count on the reinforcement of two French water bombers, made available via the European Union. These two aircraft returned to Nîmes, in the south of France, on Sunday, after having carried out “250 drops in 72 hours”, mainly in the regions of Tizi-Ouzou and Bejaïa, said Commander Alexandre Jouassard, spokesman for the French civil security.
Up to 44 degrees in the north of the country
After a week of extreme heat, the weather does not seem to give a break: the national services warned Sunday of a new rise in temperatures in the north of the country, with peaks at 44 degrees. The largest country in Africa, Algeria has only 4.1 million hectares of forests, with a meager reforestation rate of 1.76%.
Every year, the north of the country is affected by forest fires, but this phenomenon is accentuated. In 2020, nearly 44,000 hectares of coppice went up in smoke. A warming climate increases the likelihood of heat waves and droughts, and in turn, fires.