Latakia Wildfire Disaster Continues to Spread on Fifth Day with Increasing Losses and Evacuation of Residents

Latakia province continues to witness widespread forest fires in several rural areas, persisting for the fifth consecutive day, amidst intensifying winds that expand the fires and hinder control efforts, posing a real disaster threatening the environment and people's lives.

In Al-Ghassaniyah (Al-Falak) area in Ras Al-Basit district, the fires dangerously approached homes, prompting civil defense teams to evacuate civilians and secure them in safer places, amid intensive efforts by the teams to extinguish the fires and prevent their spread.

The fires also surrounded firefighters in Karn Koul and Al-Burka areas in Kastal Ma'af district in northern Latakia, where the wind speed increased the spread of fires, with significant difficulties in reaching fire spots due to the lack of clear roads or firebreaks.

The Director of Forests Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Majd Suleiman, confirmed that the fires extended to the southern and southwestern parts of Al-Furnaqlaq Reserve, including villages like Kastal Ma'af, Al-Mazraa, Beit Malak, Al-Qantarah, and Al-Khidr, which are dense forested and pine areas, considered important areas in the reserve on the southern side. The village of Atira in the northeastern side was also affected.

Efforts are focused on protecting the core of the reserve, vital biodiversity points, and high forest density, especially the semi-natural Lebanese cedar forests, with attempts to isolate the Kubair axis and Furnaqlaq forests from the fire extension, as the reserve covers an area of about 5360 hectares.

In Beit Al-Qadar and Falak villages, a sudden fire broke out, and civilians found themselves trapped amidst the flames after the only road was abruptly closed with a bulldozer, as locals went out to assist civil defense teams but ended up trapped by the fire instead of being protected.

Latakia province witnessed intensive security presence, where the Internal Security Commander, Colonel Abdul Aziz Hilal Al-Ahmad, and the Security Director in the northern countryside, Mohammad Yahya Nidal Jadou', conducted an inspection tour of the sites of security and police units' deployment to support civil defense teams, emergencies, and disaster management, enhance coordination to ensure a rapid response, and protect residents and properties.

The civil defense also warned residents of western Idlib countryside of health risks resulting from the dense smoke due to the fires in Latakia, as the smoke density increased due to the southwest wind movement, affecting wide areas in Idlib, especially the western and northwestern parts.

Civilians were advised to take preventive measures such as wearing masks, closing windows, staying indoors, especially for children, the elderly, and respiratory patients, and heading to the nearest medical point if experiencing symptoms of shortness of breath or nausea.

Syrian and Turkish firefighting teams continue their heroic battle in Sheikh Hassan village, amidst challenging terrains and relentless flames, in an attempt to prevent the fire from spreading.