Evacuations in eastern Algeria as forest fires reach residential areas

The Algerian Civil Protection announced on Wednesday the evacuation of several families in the wilaya of Jijel (east), after forest fires reached residential areas.

Footage published by the local website “Jijel News” showed residents in a state of panic taking shelter inside a post office amid thick smoke clouds as the fires approached.

Of the 37 fires currently burning across Algeria, five are affecting the wilaya of Jijel, and two fires prompted the evacuation of residents, according to a statement from the Civil Protection that did not specify the number of people evacuated.

The first fire affected the municipality of Ouled Yahia Khedrouche, and “preventive evacuation operations were carried out for residents, with the deployment of a Mi-26 firefighting helicopter in addition to ground resources,” according to a Civil Protection statement.

The second fire in Jijel affected the municipality of El Chiffa, where “preventive evacuation operations were also carried out, and significant firefighting resources were deployed, along with the deployment of two AT-802 firefighting aircraft,” according to the same source.

Northern Algeria experiences forest fires every summer, a phenomenon whose severity is exacerbated by repeated droughts and extreme heat caused by climate change.

In recent years, massive fires have killed dozens of people, destroyed thousands of hectares of forests and agricultural land, as well as a large number of homes.

Authorities also noted that some fires were deliberately set, and announced the arrest of suspects.