Raging wildfires in Syria’s coastal mountains threaten forest lands and disrupt recovery efforts.
Since Thursday, massive wildfires have ravaged the coastal mountain region of Jabal Turkman in Syria, decimating thousands of hectares of forest and pushing emergency services to their limits.
Abdel Kafi Kayyal, head of civil defense in Lattakia province, revealed that strong winds, treacherous terrain, and the lurking menace of wartime landmines have severely hindered firefighting efforts.
These fires test Syria’s new government as it endeavors to revive the nation after over ten years of conflict and crippling sanctions, with many areas still lacking basic services.
The inferno stretches across a 20-kilometer (12 miles) line, severing roads and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes, leaving some regions in darkness.
Drone footage captures the blaze advancing relentlessly through rugged landscapes, occasionally intensifying as it engulfs parched woodland.
“This blaze presents an extreme challenge,” Kayyal shared with CNN on Saturday, noting that reinforcements have been summoned from across Syria.
The fires have now encroached into Tartous province, despite the valiant efforts of over 60 firefighting units.
Syrian authorities have reached out for global aid. Turkey has dispatched two helicopters and 11 firefighting vehicles, while Jordanian civil defense teams joined the battle on Sunday.
NASA’s FIRMS satellite data reveals that the scorched area now spans over 180 square kilometers, surpassing the size of Damascus.
Syrian government data from 2023 indicates the nation’s forest cover is approximately 5,270 square kilometers, suggesting these fires have consumed over 3% of Syria’s forested land in merely three days.
Compounding the crisis is a persistent drought. The Carnegie Endowment Middle East program reported last year that the Euphrates Basin region, particularly Syria’s southern and eastern deserts, has endured scant rainfall and soaring temperatures for four years.
