Syria seeks European help as forest wildfires rage

Syria seeks European help as forest wildfires rage
by AFP Staff Writers
Damascus (AFP) July 8, 2025

Syria's minister for emergencies and disaster management on Tuesday requested support from the European Union to battle wildfires that have swept through forest in the coastal province of Latakia for six days.

Neighbouring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have dispatched firefighting teams and equipment including aircraft to assist as Syrian emergency crews have struggled to bring the blazes under control in difficult conditions including strong winds, mountainous terrain and drought.

"We asked the European Union for help in extinguishing the fires," minister Raed al-Saleh said on X, noting Cyprus was expected to send aid later Tuesday.

"Fear of the fires spreading due to strong winds last night prompted us to evacuate 25 families to ensure their safety without any human casualties," he added.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office in Syria, the fires impacted "some 5,000 persons, including displacements, across 60 communities".

An estimated 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) of forest and farmland -- more than three percent of Syria's forest cover -- have burned, OCHA told AFP in a statement.

At least seven towns in Latakia province have been evacuated as a precaution.

Efforts to extinguish the fires have been hindered by "rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, strong winds and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance", Saleh said.

During a visit to the area, Interior Minister Anas Khattab noted there were "suspicions about the involvement of some individuals" in the blazes, saying investigations would begin to determine if any were deliberately lit and hold any arsonists to account.

Seven months after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, Syria continues to face the repercussions of its 14-year civil war, which include explosive remnants scattered across the country.

With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.

In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said Syria had "not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years".

Forest fire blazes in southern France
Narbonne, France (AFP) July 8, 2025 - A forest fire blazed in southern France Tuesday, after it crept across an area the size of 2,000 rugby pitches of trees, causing an autoroute to Spain to close temporarily and residents to evacuate their homes.

The fire, the latest of several in the area in recent days, started on the property of a winery south of the city of Narbonne on Monday afternoon, then spread rapidly due to wind and parched vegetation after a heatwave.

More than 1,000 firefighters battled the flames overnight, but by the morning the inferno had partially damaged 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of land and was still going strong, local authorities said.

Local official Christian Pouget said six homes had been partially affected.

"The fire has still not been brought under control," he said.

In the village of Prat-de-Cest on Tuesday morning, trees were blackened or still on fire.

As she watched fire trucks drive to and fro, retiree Martine Bou, who did not give her age, recounted fleeing her home with her cats, tortoises and dog on Monday afternoon before returning.

But her husband Frederic stayed all night to hose down the great pines on the other side of the road so the fire would not engulf their home.

"I've never seen anything like it. I have never lived next to such an enormous fire," he told AFP, reporting flames dozens of metres (more than a hundred feet) high.

French weather service Meteo France said the risk of fires remained high on Tuesday.

Authorities closed the A9 autoroute to Spain, but on Tuesday morning they said they were progressively reopening the route to traffic.

Meteo France said this weekend that a punishing heatwave that began on June 19 had officially ended on Friday, lasting in all 16 days -- the same length as the country's deadly 2003 heatwave.

That same day, however, the first major fires of the season broke out in the south.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of the extreme heat that causes some forest fires.

Thousands told to stay home as Spain forest fire rages
Tarragona, Spain (AFP) July 8, 2025 - Hundreds of Spanish firefighters on Tuesday battled a forest fire stoked by fierce winds that had burned more than 3,000 hectares, with authorities ordering 18,000 residents to stay at home.

More than 450 firefighters backed by helicopters and planes were deployed across a hilly 30-kilometre (19-mile) front in the northeastern province of Tarragona, the Catalonia region's fire service said.

The blaze had devoured an estimated 3,137 hectares (7,751 acres), with the protected Els Ports natural park representing about one-third of the total, according to Catalan rangers.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw a helicopter swoop over burning vegetation and a house to drop water as grey smoke billowed from the green hills.

The blaze had gutted an isolated hillside home, which stood surrounded by scorched trees, its roof collapsed.

Firefighters said they were "cautiously optimistic" as they worked to stabilise the blaze and prevent it spreading further into the park.

"The changing wind patterns in the area will determine the fire's progression," the service added in a statement.

The emergency response could "begin a stabilisation phase in the final hours of the day", said the leader of Catalonia's regional authority, Salvador Illa.

Catalonia's civil protection authority urged residents to shut their doors and windows and stay home, saying around 18,000 people were affected.

Overnight gusts of up to 90 kilometres (56 miles) per hour had thwarted efforts to extinguish the fire, prompting reinforcements from the Spanish army's emergencies unit.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of the extreme heat that fuels forest fires.

Spain has in recent days sweltered through a heatwave that parched the land and heightened the risk of forest fires.

National weather agency AEMET said last month was Spain's hottest June on record and that the frequency of extreme heat had tripled in the past 10 years.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, around 500 fires destroyed 300,000 hectares in Spain in 2022, a record for the continent.

Around 21,000 hectares have burned so far this year.