Tunisia records 900 fires in 72-hour window during intense heatwave

At least 900 fires broke out in Tunisia over a 72-hour period, a senior official said on Friday, as the country grapples with an intense heatwave.

“These are not only forest fires but also brushland, crops, houses,” said civil protection official Khalil Mechri, without offering details on the areas affected.

He said most of the blazes recorded between 20 and 22 July had been extinguished, though two major ones were still raging.

An Italian firefighting aircraft joined efforts Friday to contain the two wildfires, one of which is in the north-western region of Sakiet Sidi Youssef.

“We requested international assistance, and at the moment one Italian plane and two Algerian planes are helping to put out the fire,” said Colonel-Major of Civil Protection, Seif Eddine Dekhlaoui.

“The flames are still present. We hope that in the coming hours, the situation gets better, with wind speeds dropping and flames reducing on all fronts,” he added.

The outbreak of so many blazes has coincided with exceptional heat.

Temperatures on Tuesday ranged between 40 and 49 degrees Celsius depending on the region, exceeding seasonal averages by 8 to 14 degrees.

The country is also experiencing daily planned power cuts intended to ease pressure on the grid.

The heatwave follows an especially rainy winter, and Mechri said an unusually high amount of dried-out plant cover had “contributed to the outbreak of fires”.

Tunisia’s director general of forests, Mohamed Noufel Ben Haha, said around 4,400 hectares of forestland burned between 1 May and 23 July, compared with 2,705 during the same period last year.

He blamed the fires mainly on negligence and criminal acts, in addition to the extreme heat.