Rabat / Anadolu

Moroccan authorities managed on Friday to extinguish forest fires that broke out in the provinces of Al Haouz (north) and Taroudant (south), which burned about 115 hectares of forest cover, with no human casualties reported.

An official at the National Agency for Water and Forests told Anadolu that the fires broke out on Wednesday before intervention teams were able to contain and extinguish them.

The official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, added that the authorities used two amphibious aircraft of the Canadair type in the extinguishing operations.

He explained that strong winds and high temperatures hampered the efforts of intervention teams and contributed to the spread of the fires.

On July 5, Moroccan authorities called on residents of areas adjacent to forests in 12 provinces to exercise caution and vigilance amid the high risk of fires breaking out.

The National Agency for Water and Forests said in a statement at the time that the maximum danger level, classified as red, includes forests in 12 provinces out of a total of 75 in the kingdom.

Morocco relies on an early warning system to assess forest fire risks, through which the agency issues periodic warnings based on climatic conditions and the state of vegetation cover.

The red level indicates an extreme danger of fires breaking out, while the orange level indicates a high danger, requiring enhanced precautions and avoidance of activities that could cause fires.

The warnings coincided with an alert bulletin issued by the Directorate General of Meteorology regarding a severe heatwave, with temperatures possibly reaching 46 degrees Celsius in some areas.