Moroccan authorities continued on Thursday for the second consecutive day their efforts to extinguish forest fires that broke out in the provinces of Taroudant and Al Haouz, having consumed about 14 hectares of forest cover in the latter province.

Mohamed Mounir, the regional director of the National Agency for Water and Forests in Marrakech and Al Haouz, said that the fire had swept through about 14 hectares of forest in Al Haouz province (north) as of 14:00 GMT.

Mounir added to Anadolu that the authorities used two Canadair amphibious aircraft to participate in extinguishing operations.

He noted that strong winds and high temperatures are hampering the efforts of intervention teams to control the flames.

For his part, Hicham El Zahidi, the regional director of the National Agency for Water and Forests in the Agadir region, said that a fire broke out on Wednesday in the forests of Taroudant province (south) within the region, and that authorities are continuing their efforts to extinguish it.

El Zahidi explained to Anadolu that the fire did not result in any human casualties.

He pointed out that the affected area will be determined after full control of the fire.

The fires broke out in forests in the provinces of Taroudant and Al Haouz on Wednesday, coinciding with high temperatures and strong winds, which contributed to their spread and made extinguishing operations difficult.

On July 5, authorities called on residents of areas adjacent to forests in 12 provinces to exercise caution and vigilance amid warnings of an increased risk of fires.

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

Morocco relies on an early warning system to assess forest fire risks, managed by the National Agency for Water and Forests, and issued periodically based on climatic conditions and the state of vegetation cover.