Are the fires that have erupted in forests in several countries in recent days the result of climate change, or are they the work of human hands?! And if they are the work of human hands, was it through negligence or deliberate action?! And why?!
We are following the disasters left in the wake of the fires in Algeria’s forests, in the provinces of Jijel, Béjaïa, and elsewhere, as well as the fires in France’s forests at the beginning of this month, August.
In Algeria, some people circulated video clips purportedly showing the presence of deliberate "perpetrators" setting the fires. Among these clips were images of burned tires found inside the forests, along with a video filmed by an amateur showing a person leaving the vicinity of a forest while flames were burning behind him. The person who filmed the video said he had reported the incident to the security authorities.
Algerian Interior and Transport Minister Saïd Saïoud announced that the security services would launch in-depth investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding the outbreak of the fires. This suggests that there are suspicions of criminal human involvement in these fires. Algerian courts have previously prosecuted people on such charges in connection with the summer fires of 2025.
In France, meanwhile, some statistics have shown that a proportion of forest fires are caused by human activity.
The French Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 420 people on charges of deliberately or accidentally starting fires, including 166 minors. One example is a 23-year-old man who was accused of deliberately starting 10 fires over five days in the Var region of southeastern France last month. He was sentenced to several years in prison.
Let us set aside the negligent individuals, such as someone who casually throws a cigarette into dry grass or paper. This is dangerous negligence, but it is not an intentional criminal act. Instead, let us ask: why do some people have the urge to deliberately set forests on fire?!
In a report published by the BBC, Michel Lejoyeux, a professor of psychiatry and addictive behavior at the University of Paris, said that people who cause fires fall into three categories: the negligent, those seeking to gain some benefit from a fire, such as an insurance payout, and those who suffer from an obsession with setting fires. But why is setting fires a source of pleasure for some, without waiting for insurance money, for example?! The answer, according to this expert: nothing more... pleasure for the sake of pleasure!
What has been said here is intended to draw attention to an area that does not usually receive the necessary focus in discussions of this issue. The reason is the presence of an intellectual inclination to attribute the whole matter to climate change, even though it would be foolish to categorically deny its role. But it is equally misguided to confine the problem to it.
