Wildfires rip through several provinces, as Morocco battles heat

The region of Larache witnessed a massive fire outbreak at 9:30 p.m this Wednesday in the Boujediane forest, where flames continued until the early morning hours of Thursday morning when local authorities and firefighters managed to neutralize the flames.

During the early start of the wildfire, local authorities of the province of Larache decided to evacuate the area of inhabitants and livestock, to avoid any human loss.

Abdelilah El Khoudari, head of the Moroccan Center for Human Rights said that the fire spread into large areas of the Larache region, especially in the Boujediane community (namely Harara village and its perimeters), and has engulfed a large area of mountainous forests.

It also destroyed thousands of olive trees, hundreds of acres of various crops, and many homes, leading to the death of hundreds of animals along with the burning of thousands of beehives scattered in abundance on the sides of the mountains along the region.

El Khoudari stated that “the cause of the fire remains unknown until now, but the criminal act of deliberately starting the fire cannot be ruled out, although it is likely that the high temperature was behind the incident.”

The spokesman called, in an interview with Hespress AR, for authorities to open an investigation into the causes of the fire, wondering “if there is any hope that the government will take a humanitarian initiative to compensate these citizens who have lost their main bread-winning sources?”

Within the same morning, another wildfire broke out in the Tahla district in the province of Taza in the Mallo Uguillas forest.

In response to the blaze, Moroccan authorities mobilized over 400 people, including members of Civil Protection, Auxiliary Forces, and the Royal Gendarmerie, in addition to all available units of local authorities.

Local residents also helped authorities contain and extinguish the fire.

Two days ago, at Amziz Mountain in the province of Ouezzane, a large fire broke out, of which the real causes remain unknown until this time.

While the reasons and circumstances of the fires remain unknown, many assume that the recent heatwave in Morocco played a substantial role. Strong winds are also suspected to have helped the fires’ breakout and spread.

Since last week, Morocco was hit by a heatwave that has brought record temperatures, ranging between 42 and 46 degrees Celsius, across several provinces.

Director of the National Center for the Management of Forest Climate Risks, Fouad El Assali, d told MAP that 4 fires broke out in the provinces of Larache, Ouazzane and Tetouan, while a fifth raged in Taza.

The official noted that strong eastern winds and high temperatures further complicated firefighting efforts, especially in Larache and Ouazzane, adding that “efforts are continuing in the hope of stifling these fires in the coming hours.”