Hundreds of Moroccan firefighters fought to put out at least four fires in the northern part of the country by the end of Thursday, July 15, officials said. The drought-stricken North African country has been hit by temperatures of up to 45 ° C (113 ° F) in recent days.
Since Wednesday night, at least 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of forests have been burned in Larashe and Ouzan, with initial reports of burning trees under a smoke-filled sky.
All the villages were evacuated immediately
The fires in all four areas have not caused any damage so far, but about 500 families have been evacuated in Larache and Taza provinces, according to official reports. Many displaced villages have also seen military planes drowning in the dry season, an AFP correspondent reported.
Shocked by the speed of the fire, residents fled their homes, with some families tending their cattle and horses – depending on their livelihood. “I was with my family, and once people said, ‘Fire! Fire!’ A village in the Kesar El region was destroyed by fire.
Climate change to strengthen fire in the future
In four districts – Larache, Ouzane, Tetuwa and Taza – the fire fell on hard-to-reach forest land, said Fuad Asali, head of the National Center for Climate Risk Management. “Efforts are underway to contain these fires,” Asali was quoted as saying by the official MAP news agency.
Ahmed Mezuwar, a 58-year-old resident of Larashe, told the agency: “It is the heat that causes this fire. it is. Once again, a neighboring village was completely engulfed in flames.
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Outside of Gibraltar, wildfires are raging in southern Europe, from Portugal and Spain to France and Greece. Scientists say that extreme weather events, such as heat waves and droughts, are more likely to be linked to climate change. They are expected to be more frequent, longer, and more powerful in the future.
