Algeria Gate: Algeria has succeeded in recording one of the fastest forest fire control operations of this summer, after the Civil Protection services announced they had controlled nearly 97% of the fires that broke out in several provinces (wilayas) since July 8.
This success comes at a time when France and Spain are still grappling with extensive wildfires that have destroyed large stretches of forest and forced mass evacuations of residents from several affected areas.
According to statements by the information officer at the Directorate General of Civil Protection, First Lieutenant Karim Ben Fehsi, reported by Algeria Press Service (APS), intervention teams had succeeded, as of Saturday evening, in extinguishing 1,838 fires out of a total of 1,850.
These figures demonstrate the effectiveness of the national intervention system, which relied on broad mobilization of various services, particularly Civil Protection, reinforced by detachments of the People’s National Army (PNA), agents of the Directorate General of Forests, as well as various state institutions.
This performance was made possible thanks to effective operational coordination on the ground and the mobilization of significant human, material, and aerial resources, which made it possible to control the majority of fire outbreaks in a very short time and limit their spread, despite the strong heatwave that has affected the country in recent days.
The Algerian army alongside Civil Protection to end the nightmare of the fires!
Along the same lines, the Algerian Ministry of National Defense confirmed that detachments of the People’s National Army (PNA) are continuing their interventions on the ground in several wilayas, in accordance with instructions from the high command, in order to support the efforts of Civil Protection and the Directorate General of Forests until all the fires are definitively brought under control.
The Algerian military institution has mobilized various aerial and ground resources, including BERIEV Be-200 aircraft capable of carrying up to 12,000 liters of water per rotation, as well as MI-26 helicopters whose capacity reaches 15,000 liters.
These resources are supplemented by bulldozers, intervention trucks, water tankers, and ambulances, in addition to the deployment of floating units to evacuate populations from threatened areas and provide them with first aid.
The army’s interventions concerned the wilayas of Blida, Medea, Bouira, Tipaza, M’sila, Tlemcen, Saida, Annaba, El Tarf, Skikda, Mila, Guelma, Setif, and Bejaia.
In these regions, the aircraft and helicopters carried out dozens of aerial sorties, depending on the evolution of the situation on the ground and weather conditions.
France requests European Union assistance… vast fires still out of control!
However, France continues to face a complex situation due to the fires. The French Minister of the Interior announced the evacuation of around 50,000 people in the vicinity of the city of Bordeaux, while the areas ravaged by the flames have reached nearly 42,000 hectares.
The total number of people evacuated since the start of the fires now stands at 220,000, while firefighting operations continue in several affected zones.
To contain this disaster, the French authorities have mobilized 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel, as well as around 1,200 police officers and gendarmes to take part in evacuation, rescue, and security operations in the affected areas.
Fires reach their peak and become uncontrollable in Spain!
In Spain, the Ministry of the Interior indicated that the forest fires affecting the west of Madrid have reached their peak intensity after ravaging around 25,000 hectares.
Of these destroyed areas, nearly 10,000 hectares are located in the Madrid region, while 13,000 to 15,000 hectares have been affected in the neighboring province of Ávila, making extinguishing operations particularly difficult.
The regional government of Madrid confirmed that more than 2,000 people had received care in 14 emergency centers. It described this fire as the worst disaster of its kind in the region’s history.
In addition, more than 1,200 elderly people and people with disabilities were evacuated from nursing homes, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stressed that the authorities’ priority remained the protection of human lives, as the situation remains complicated due to changes in wind direction.
These data highlight the difference in the pace of fire control. Algeria succeeded in controlling 97% of the fires in a short period of time, thanks to the speed of interventions and coordination between the various security, military, and civilian institutions.
Whereas, France and Spain continue to face large-scale fires that have required vast evacuation operations as well as massive mobilization of human and material resources.
