In the vicinity of the village of Bashura, located in the Turkmendaghi region in the north of the Syrian province of Lazkiye (Latakia), a forest fire broke out, which they are trying to bring under control.
As reported by the Syrian news agency SANA, the fire began on Friday evening and quickly spread over a large area due to the difficult terrain and increased wind.
Civil defense forces and fire brigades of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Disaster Management disasters are trying to prevent the fire from spreading to residential areas and agricultural lands.
The head of the region’s civil defense center, Mahmoud al-Shureyki, said that firefighters are facing serious difficulties in extinguishing the fire.
“Firefighting in the Bashur region is complicated by the extremely difficult terrain and increasing winds,” he said.
Shureiki also noted that in some areas unexploded ordnance left over from combat, so teams work with extreme caution. According to him, all possible resources are being used to fight the fire.
“Our teams are working at full capacity. We hope that in the coming hours we will achieve positive results both in extinguishing and cooling the area,” al-Shureiki noted.
The northern regions of Lazkiye suffered significant environmental and agricultural damage last summer due to large-scale forest fires that covered large areas. In this regard, the authorities have strengthened plans for a rapid response to the risk of new fires in the region.