Fires rage in Syria’s Hama and Latakia, overwhelming firefighting crews
LATAKIA/HAMA, Syria (North Press) – The outbreak of fires renewed on Monday evening in the western countryside of Hama on the borders of Latakia Governorate, central Syria, devouring vast areas of forests and forested mountains.
The fires extended into the mountains of Shataha, Naour, and Ain Alkorom in Ghab Plain in the western countryside of Hama, destroying vegetation in the entire area after it reached the villages of Ferika and Ain Badria.
Civil defense firefighting teams in Latakia announced a full mobilization and directed all their crews to the eastern Latakia countryside.
Samer Shabani, an official in the Latakia Fire Brigade, said that they are in a 24-hour state of alert.
The firefighting system in Latakia includes the Fire Department, the Forestry Service, the Civil Defense in Latakia, and the Latakia Fire Brigade, headed by the Latakia Governor.
“The firefighter teams are deploying in mountainous regions of Slanfah, where a vast area of vegetation, has burned and reached the woodland area in Shara,” Shabani added.
Shabani pointed out that the residents of mountainous areas participated in the firefighting.
However, changing winds contributed to the spread of the fires, especially rugged areas, but firefighting teams were able to prevent the fires from reaching residents’ houses, Shabani added.
He further explained that most of these fires spread in rugged areas that included rocky cliffs, starting from the Slanfah area in the Latakia countryside to Shatha in Ghab Plain and the countryside of Masyaf.
The mountains of the Syrian coast and the areas in the countryside of Hama and Ghab Plain have witnessed the outbreak of large fires, for days. The fires have led to an outpouring of support on social media, with the hashtags “#Syria_is_Burning” and “#PrayForSyria” trending in the Middle East.
The fires have destroyed thousands of hectares of forested land, which contains reserves and rare trees, such as the Slunfa Reserve, which lost tens of acres of fir and cedar trees.
The reserve also hosts dozens of rare species of animals and local birds, whose fates are unknown.