Moroccan authorities battle to extinguish forest fires
(MENAFN) Authorities in northern Morocco continued on Wednesday to combat forest fires in the Chefchaouen province.
Reports indicate that Canadair amphibious firefighting planes are being deployed to control the flames, which erupted on Tuesday. No casualties have been reported so far.
Officials from the Moroccan National Agency for Water and Forests (ANEF) stated that the fire began in the Dardara forest on the outskirts of Chefchaouen amid record-breaking temperatures. Specialized aircraft and civil protection teams remain engaged in efforts to extinguish the blazes.
“The people of the area didn’t sleep all night as they worked to help extinguish the fires,” Suleiman Rakib, a local resident, told reports. He added that the flames have caused significant damage, particularly to olive trees.
Witnesses noted that the mountainous, forested terrain has complicated firefighting operations. Abderrahim Houmy, director of the National Water and Forest Agency, said the fires have destroyed 500 hectares of forest, describing them as “among the largest in the country in 2025.”
On Monday, meteorological authorities issued a warning of a heat wave expected to push temperatures to 46°C (114.8°F) across several regions for several days.
According to reports, Morocco recorded roughly 382 forest fires in 2024, burning about 874 hectares of woodland—a decline of 82% from the previous year. Forests cover approximately 12% of the country, and the nation faces fires of varying severity each year depending on weather conditions and human activity.
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