Forest fires claim two more lives in northern Morocco

Two women have died of asphyxiation after several forest fires broke out on Monday evening in the Moroccan province of Larache, in the north of the country. This was reported by local authorities on Tuesday. The province had previously been hit by some devastating fires. According to local provincial authorities, the two women “would not answer calls from local authorities ordering them to evacuate the homes”.

The fires in northern Morocco have killed four people since mid-July. The day before, a volunteer in Taounate province in the north disappeared while fighting flames alongside intervention teams to put an end to the blaze that had already destroyed at least 33 hectares of forested areas. In mid-July, the fires had already claimed a victim in the Larache province.

On Monday, 536 families from 11 villages in the region were evacuated as a precaution. According to local authorities, 35 hectares of forest have also gone up in flames in the northern province of Fahs-Anjra since Monday evening. More than 10,500 hectares of land has already been destroyed in the six northern provinces between 13 and 18 July. The Moroccan government released almost €30 million on Friday to help the victims of the forest fires and limit the impact on agriculture and the environment.