Firefighting teams control 80% of Latakia countryside fires

The Civil Defense Directorate in Latakia Governorate, northwestern Syria, announced on Saturday that it had brought 80 percent of the fires raging in the Kasab area in the northern countryside under control.

SANA, the official Syrian Arab News Agency, quoted the Director of the Civil Defense in Latakia, Abdul Kafi Kayal, as saying, "Firefighting and civil defense teams have managed to bring 80 percent of the fires in the Kasab area under control."

Kayal, an official in the coastal firefighting operations room, added that "extinguishing efforts are still ongoing, and currently include cooling and monitoring operations in several locations, including Shajar al-Ma'bar and the Chalma Junction."

He explained that firefighting teams are facing difficulty reaching some of the burning areas in Wadi al-Nabain in the village of al-Mushrifah due to the rugged terrain. He described these areas as "minor, but difficult to deal with at the moment," noting that monitoring teams will continue to monitor the situation 24 hours a day to ensure full control and extinguishment of all fires.

With the onset of summer, Syrian governorates, particularly the Latakia countryside, have witnessed forest fires due to high temperatures. Their intensity and the difficulty of extinguishing them are exacerbated by the dense trees, drought, and high winds.

Civil Defense teams, firefighting brigades, and forestry brigades are participating in the extinguishing operations, supported by reinforcements from several governorates, along with the efforts of residents in areas near the fire sites.

Last July, forest fires broke out in the mountains of Latakia Governorate. They lasted 12 days and destroyed more than 16,000 hectares of forest, including 2,200 hectares of agricultural land. They affected 45 villages, and the number of affected families reached approximately 1,200, according to official estimates.