UPDATE - Algeria reports over 22 forest fires across 8 provinces

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, OTHER EDITS

By Abbas Mimouni, Hassen Djebril and Rania Abu Shamala

ALGIERS, Algeria / ISTANBUL (AA) - Algeria saw some 22 forest fires in eight provinces, with the most severe in the central Tipaza province, prompting evacuations from some areas.

Some 22 fires had been registered as of 10.30 pm local time (2130GMT), the Algerian Civil Defense said in a statement Thursday.

It said the fires were reported in eight provinces in the east, center, and west of the country, adding that the most intense blazes were in the mountains of Tipaza.

Videos posted by news outlets and social media users showed evacuation operations in Hadjret Ennous, part of Tipaza, with flames bearing down.

State-run Ennahar TV reported that gendarmerie units evacuated populated areas reached by the fires.

The channel added that civil protection teams have gotten the situation under control.

Several Algerian provinces have been witnessing large-scale forest fires since Thursday, particularly in the coastal province of Tipaza west of the capital, amid strong, hot, and unusually dry southern winds for this time of year, alongside extensive evacuation operations for residents in affected areas.

Algerian TV reported that Prime Minister Saifi Ghrib saw firefighting operations on the ground last night in Tipaza.

Algerian Civil Defense said on Facebook that its teams worked throughout the night to extinguish the fires in Tipaza despite winds exceeding 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour).

News photos and online videos showed intense nighttime firefighting efforts after flames neared populated areas, prompting authorities to close some roads as a precaution.

Authorities have not specified the causes of the fires, but northern Algeria—especially the western and central provinces—has been experiencing an unusual heatwave for days due to hot southern sirocco winds, known locally as al-Shihili.

Temperatures on Thursday topped 31°C (87.8°F) in the capital Algiers, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, according to an Anadolu correspondent, at a time of year that normally sees heavy rain and even snow at high elevations.

Algeria has suffered from a severe drought for more than six years, particularly in its central and western regions, leading to declining dam and groundwater levels and worsening the risk of forest fires.

Repeated drought waves since 2022 have caused unprecedented fires, killing dozens of people, injuring hundreds, and destroying tens of thousands of hectares of forests and vegetation.