Thirty fires fueled by a heatwave episode have been recorded since Monday in Tunisia in the mountainous regions of the northwest and the center-west of the country, where several families have been evacuated, Civil Protection said Thursday.
Out of 28 fires since Monday, eight forest fires were still active Thursday at midday, especially in the mountainous regions of the government of Jendouba, some 200 km northwest of the capital Tunis.
“A few fires are still active, but most of these fires have been brought under control,” General Moez Triaa, spokesperson for Civil Protection, told AFP.
Extreme heat in Tunisia: around thirty fires identified since Monday
AFP
According to Mr. Triaa, these fires did not cause any victims but six houses were “partially” burned.
Nineteen families were evacuated from Djebal al-Sarj in the Kairouan region (center), and nine in the Fernana region in the northwest, he added.
These fires, the causes of which have not been established so far, were fueled by a heatwave that hit Tunisia where temperature records were recorded Tuesday and Wednesday by the National Institute of Meteorology, especially in the north and center of the country.
Extreme heat in Tunisia: around thirty fires identified since Monday
AFP
On Wednesday, the country recorded an all-time high with a temperature of over 50 degrees (50.3 C) in Kairouan.
Every year, Tunisia is affected by forest fires. From June 1 to August 12, nearly 5,000 hectares went up in smoke, according to Mr. Triaa.
In neighboring Algeria, firefighters and volunteers are still fighting Thursday against the flames that have been ravaging northern Algeria since Monday, where 69 people have died in these fires.
