DAMASCUS, Jul 27 (NNN-SANA) – Fire crews yesterday battled numerous blazes, amid a heatwave and have controlled most of them, in Syria’s north-western province of Latakia, said officials.
Amer Ismail Hilal, governor of Latakia, said that, firefighters have been trying to control new blazes in the area for two days, as flames have burned large swathes of agricultural and forest areas in Latakia.
About 70 percent of regional fires were controlled, the Civil Defence Commander in Latakia told local media.
He noted that, the fires randomly broke out in areas not connected to each other.
The current fires in Latakia started on Tuesday in a forested region. Strong winds and the difficult-to-reach mountainous terrain contributed to the rapid spread of fire.
According to Bassem Douba, director of agriculture and agrarian reform in Latakia, preliminary estimation indicated that over 5,000 dunums (five square km) were burned entirely.
An investigation into the cause of the fires and a final estimation of their damage are underway, said officials.
