At least 12 killed as wildfires rage across several Algerian provinces

Wildfires Kill 12 in Algeria Amid Severe Heatwave

At least 12 people have been killed in wildfires that swept through several Algerian provinces on Wednesday, Interior Minister Said Sayoud said late that day, according to Algerian radio. The fatalities included five people in Jijel province, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou, local media reported.

Sayoud added that 54 people had suffered burn injuries, including six in critical condition who are currently in intensive care, the official APS news agency reported. He and Health Minister Mohamed Seddik Ait Messaoudene travelled to Bejaia to “assess the progress of firefighting operations on the ground... and the condition of the injured,” APS said.

Algeria’s civil protection services recorded 154 wildfires across the country on Wednesday, with 36 fires reported in Bejaia province alone, of which 18 had been brought under control. As of 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), firefighters were battling 69 blazes, the civil protection agency said.

The fires come as an exceptional heatwave sweeps across North Africa, particularly Tunisia and Algeria. Forest fires occur regularly in northern Algeria during the summer, but climate change is amplifying their impact by causing increasingly frequent droughts and intense heat.

Evacuations and Disruptions

Many residents in Bejaia and Jijel have been evacuated, according to the civil protection agency and local media. Images broadcast by local site Jijel News showed panicked residents taking refuge in a post office as thick clouds of smoke billowed around them.

Three major national highways connecting regions in the east of the country were closed due to forest fires near the cities of Bejaia, Jijel and Setif, the gendarmerie said. The civil protection agency said it had deployed significant resources to combat the blazes, which are being fuelled by strong winds.

An eight-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman were among those killed in Bejaia, a local radio station reported.

Recent History of Wildfires

Algeria has grappled with wildfires over the summer. At least six people were killed in several provinces last month, according to the authorities. More than 30 people were killed in July 2023 when fires tore through thousands of hectares of forests and farmland, as well as hundreds of homes, in the area around Bejaia.

Authorities recorded nearly 2,000 fires nationwide in July this year. More than 100 people had to temporarily flee their homes in Annaba in late July as fires swept through the northeastern province, damaging nearly 150 homes. Four people in Constantine province have been placed in pre-trial detention in connection with the July fires.

Dozens of people have been killed in recent years, and thousands of hectares of forest and farmland destroyed, along with numerous homes.