Algerians Flee Wildfires in Country's Northeast

Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)
Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)
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Algerians Flee Wildfires in Country's Northeast

Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)
Civil Defense teams try to put out fires in Jijel last summer. (file photo/Civil Defense)

Algerian firefighters on Sunday were battling blazes in the northeastern Kabylie region as families were ordered to evacuate, local media and an AFP journalist said.

Residents were told to leave homes in the fire's path in Tizi Ouzou province, news site Ennahar Online reported quoting a forest official, though it was not immediately clear how many people were affected.

Numerous wildfires have broken out in Tizi Ouzou since Friday, though most of them have been brought under control or were expected to soon, said civil defence official Nassim Bernaoui.

"The situation is under control, but outbreaks of fire continue in hard-to-reach areas," he told AFP in the village of Ait Frah, south of Tizi Ouzou city.

The AFP journalist saw olive groves and fig orchards consumed by fires, as well as hen coops, beehives and some homes.

Authorities in Bejaia province, near Tizi Ouzou, ordered the evacuation of around 20 families from Mezouara village, which is located near a forest where blazes raged on Sunday.

Online videos showed a water bomber deployed to help contain the forest fire.

Wildfires are a common sight in summer in northern Algeria, increasingly exacerbated by drought and heatwaves scientists say are linked to climate change.

More than 30 people died in massive fires that ravaged Bejaia in July 2023, destroying thousands of acres of forests and agricultural lands as well as hundreds of homes.



NASA's Stuck Astronaut Steps Out on a Spacewalk after 7 Months in Orbit

FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
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NASA's Stuck Astronaut Steps Out on a Spacewalk after 7 Months in Orbit

FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo

One of NASA’s two stuck astronauts got a much welcomed change of scenery Thursday, stepping out on her first spacewalk since arriving at the International Space Station more than seven months ago.

Suni Williams, the station's commander, had to tackle some overdue outdoor repair work alongside NASA's Nick Hague. They emerged as the orbiting lab sailed 260 miles (420 kilometers) above Turkmenistan, The AP reported.

“I'm coming out,” Williams radioed.

Plans called for Williams to float back out next week with Butch Wilmore. Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule last June on what should have been a weeklong test flight.

But Starliner trouble dragged out their return, and NASA ordered the capsule to come back empty. Then SpaceX delayed the launch of their replacements, meaning the two won’t be home until late March or early April — ten months after launching.

It was the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts since an aborted one last summer. U.S. spacewalks were put on hold after water leaked into the airlock from the cooling loop for an astronaut's suit. NASA said the problem has been fixed.

This was the eighth spacewalk for Williams, who has lived on the space station before.