Around 12,000 hectares of forestland were burned this summer across several Tunisian regions, Aroussi Rbiai, Deputy Director of Forest Protection at the General Directorate of Forests in Tunisia, said in a press statement on Wednesday, stressing that 95% of the blazes have human causes.
Speaking to National Radio, Rbiai said that several people were arrested on suspicion of intentionally or accidentally starting the fires across the country, while investigation was under way to find out what caused the blazes.
Head of the Operations and Follow-up Sub-Directorate of Civil Protection, Lieutenant Colonel Khalil al-Mashari, said firefighters contained two major wildfires that broke out in northwestern Tunisia, especially in the Sakiet Sidi Youssef and Nebeur district of the Kef governorate.
Al-Mashari said the rescue teams are now moving to the mop-up phase to reduce the risk of flare-ups.
He then explained that the blazes were among the “worst in Tunisia in terms of severity and affected areas.”
Tunisian firefighters have been battling intense blazes for nine consecutive days, aided by international support.
Hundreds of fires erupted across the country amid record-breaking temperatures reaching up to 49°C, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.
Desert winds blew across regions, making flames spread faster and stronger, complicating ground interventions.
Last week, Tunisian firefighters contained a major wildfire on Mount Touila in the region of Nebeur in the Kef governorate, as several blazes broke out in a number of regions, amid a severe summer heatwave.
State TV showed scenes documenting the flames that devoured trees in the middle of the forests in Nebeur and smoke clouds that covered the sky of the affected areas.
Also, Tunisian authorities fully extinguished a massive fire on Mount Nadhour in the Bizerte Governorate, after more than 16 hours of firefighting efforts.
Days earlier, Tunisian Civil Protection units said they carried out 296 firefighting operations within a single 24-hour period. Official sources said that because of climate change, thousands of hectares of forestland are burned across the country every year due to intense heatwaves that push temperatures close to 50°C across parts of the country.
