Two wildfires in Morocco’s Sefrou and Chefchaouen provinces have destroyed a combined 545 hectares of forest since late July, according to official figures obtained by Hespress AR.
The largest fire broke out in the Laanoussar forest near Ifrane Lake in Sefrou province on July 31 and burned 480 hectares before being brought under control on Aug. 7, according to the National Agency for Water and Forests.
A second fire in the Talassemtane National Park in Chefchaouen province burned 65 hectares after starting Saturday, Aug. 8. Authorities said Tuesday that the fire had been contained, although crews were continuing to deal with remaining hotspots.
Youssef Zerougui, the agency’s provincial director in Chefchaouen, said the Talassemtane fire occurred in the Tlembout district of the Bouhmed area.
“The difficult terrain and high temperatures made firefighting efforts more difficult,” Zerougui told Hespress AR. He said the situation had stabilized and that crews were working to eliminate remaining hotspots.
Authorities expected to fully extinguish the remaining pockets of fire by Tuesday evening or Wednesday, Zerougui said, adding that nearby villages were not at risk.
About 350 people from several agencies took part in efforts to contain the Chefchaouen fire, including personnel from the National Agency for Water and Forests, Civil Protection, the Royal Armed Forces, Auxiliary Forces and the Royal Gendarmerie.
Two Canadair firefighting aircraft also made several aerial sorties to help contain the blaze, Zerougui said.
Sefrou fire burns 480 hectares
The Sefrou fire broke out July 31 in the Laanoussar forest near Ifrane Lake and was brought under control Aug. 7, according to updated official figures.
Othman Bensouda, the agency’s provincial director in Sefrou, said firefighting and monitoring operations were continuing in the area.
“The fire was brought under control last Friday, but monitoring and patrol operations are still continuing,” Bensouda told Hespress.
Crews are dealing with small hotspots that flare up periodically, he said, but they have not significantly increased the area affected by the fire.
Bensouda put the final burned area at 480 hectares.
Nearly 300 people participated in efforts to contain the blaze, including Civil Protection personnel, forestry officials, Royal Armed Forces troops, Auxiliary Forces, Royal Gendarmerie personnel and local residents.
The firefighting operation also involved extensive aerial support, with as many as four Canadair aircraft deployed at certain points, Bensouda said.
Morocco recorded 1,850 hectares of burned forest between the beginning of the year and July 20, according to figures previously released by the National Agency for Water and Forests.
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