One person has died in violent fires that have ravaged remote wooded areas of northern Morocco since Wednesday, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of families and destroying thousands of hectares of forest, authorities said on Friday (July 15th). The latter, found in one of the fires in the Larache region, was “multiple burn injuries”according to a press release from the authorities.
At least 2,000 hectares of forest massifs – mainly oaks, pines and other conifers – have already been destroyed in the provinces of Larache, Ouezzane, Tetouan, Taza and Chefchaouen, the last affected, all located in the north of the country, according to a provisional report Friday evening.
The rapid progression of the flames, fanned by gusts of wind up to 45 km / h, forced 1,156 families to evacuate seventeen douars (villages) in the burnt areas of Larache, where three major outbreaks persist, according to the authorities. . In this same region, an AFP photographer saw residents taking care of the protection of their village against fire, near the town of Ksar El Kébir, one of the most devastated areas.
In the region of Tetouan, near the Mediterranean port of Tangier, around sixty houses burned down, nearly a hundred heads of cattle perished and 247 people were evacuated there. In Taza, 420 villagers had to leave their homes in eight douars.
In addition to four Canadair water bombers from the army and four spray planes, hundreds of elements from Civil Protection, Waters and Forests, the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) and the Gendarmerie, assisted by local authorities and of volunteers, were mobilized to try to stop the advance of the fires. Reinforcements have been dispatched to the affected areas.