According to the interior minister, at least 26 people were killed and dozens more were injured in forest fires that ravaged 14 districts in northern Algeria on Wednesday.
According to Kamel Beldjoud of state television, 24 people died in fires in El Tarf, near the border with Tunisia, in addition to two others who died earlier in Setif.
According to the civil protection agency in Setif, two women, “a 58-year-old mother and her 31-year-old daughter,” were killed in the town.
People were seen fleeing their homes in Souk Ahras, further east near Algeria’s border with Tunisia, as fires spread before firefighting helicopters arrived.
According to an earlier toll, four people in Souk Ahras were burned and 41 others had breathing difficulties, according to authorities. According to media reports, 350 people were evacuated.
There was no update on the number of people injured in the other fires.
As a result of the fires, the gendarmerie has closed several roads.
“There are 39 fires burning in 14 wilayas (administrative councils),” the civil protection agency reported, noting that El Tarf was the hardest hit, with 16 fires burning.
Helicopters dropped water on fires in three wilayas, including Souk Ahras, using bambi buckets.
Since the beginning of August, 106 fires have erupted in Algeria, destroying over 2,500 hectares of forest.
According to Beldjoud, some of the fires were started by people.
With Wednesday’s death toll, the total number of people killed in wildfires this season now stands at 30.
Algeria is Africa’s largest country, but its forest is only 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres). Forest fires ravage the country’s north every year, a problem exacerbated by climate change.Last year, forest fires ravaged northern Algeria, killing at least 90 people and destroying more than 100,000 hectares of forest.
