The heatwave continues to take its toll on Morocco's vegetation cover. In 26 days, some 255 hectares of forest have gone up in smoke. On July 26, a fire ravaged nearly 15 hectares of the Aïn Hnach forest located in the province of Ifrane, declared on Sunday at 2 p.m. The fire required the mobilisation of the Royal Gendarmerie and Water and Forests, as well as elements of the Civil Protection. As for the toll, the fire fortunately did not cause any casualties, but caused the devastation of nearly 15 hectares of the forest, all charred.
The elements of the Civil Protection found great difficulty in containing the fire which ravaged the 15 hectares due to non-compliance with forest standards and the negligence of officials who do not care about the future of nature and the forest.
After six and a half intense hours and supported by the efforts of the Civil Protection elements, the blaze was brought under control. An investigation has been opened to determine the causes of this fire. The latter destroyed 15 hectares of green space. Several questions still arise about measures to educate people to respect the forest. On the 21st of the same month, a fire ravaged 20 hectares of the Akreuch forest and 100 hectares of adjacent agricultural land. The incident, which started around 11:55 a.m., was totally contained at 4:30 p.m., after the intervention of elements of the Royal Armed Forces, the Royal Gendarmerie, the Auxiliary Forces, the Civil Protection and Water and Forests, as well as the population, in the presence of local authorities. An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of this fire.
More than 40 hectares of forest trees were destroyed on July 18 by a fire that started in the Kebdana forest, falling under the rural commune of Arekman (40 km east of Nador). The Gendarmerie, Water and Forests and Civil Protection were mobilised to overcome this fire, which ravaged 4,700 m2.
At 110km from Guelmim in the province of Assa-Zag, on July 10, nearly 600 palm trees were ravaged by a fire that spread over 4 hectares, completely destroying 100 palm trees, however, causing no casualties. The fire was brought under control thanks to the support of the Civil Protection elements of the city of Guelmim and the contribution of local authorities and citizens.
On the 7th of the same month, some 180 hectares of thuja and shrubs in the Tafoughalt forest (province of Berkane) were ravaged by a fire of undetermined origin. It spread rapidly due to gusts of wind, specifying that the strong heat and the rugged terrain made the fire-extinguishing operation difficult. The Civil Protection elements deployed their means to control the fire, notably tanker planes, aided by the Royal Gendarmerie and the Auxiliary Forces.
A day earlier, a forest fire ravaged 25 hectares of pine forest in the Al Khandak Al Kébir forest located in the commune of Zaouiat Sidi Kacem-Amsa falling under the Caidat Ben Said (province of Tetouan).
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It should be remembered that the Moroccan forest domain covers an area of approximately 9 million hectares, including 4.5 million hectares of forests and scrubland, 3 million hectares of esparto grass, 1 million hectares of Saharan acacia and 0.5 million hectares of reforestation. The afforestation rate in Morocco is around 9%, which is a rate lower than the optimum which is between 15 and 20%.
