Syria’s massive wildfires brought under control after days of intense battles

LATAKIA Syria AP Various of Syria s worst wildfires in years have been brought under control as of Sunday according to the Civil Defense and the Ministry of Urgency and Catastrophe Management following days of grueling firefighting in the forested countryside of the coastal Latakia province The blazes which started days ago and swept through the heavily wooded area of several mountain ranges were fanned by strong winds scorching summer heat and unexploded ordnance left behind from the country s -year civil war Firefighters faced hazardous conditions with advocacy from aerial teams and engineering units working to open firebreaks in the dense terrain In a comment the Civil Defense announced the spread of the fire was halted on Sunday morning following extensive efforts by firefighting teams and both helicopter and glider aircraft Crews remain on the ground conducting cooling operations and monitoring the area to prevent new flare-ups it added More than hectares of forest were burned according to Abed al-Kafi Kayal a civil defense company leader There are no injuries among residents he communicated The Associated Press Particular firefighters were hurt mostly from slipping road conditions or the intensity of the flames Firefighting helicopters swept low over ridgelines on Saturday dumping water onto hotspots as ground crews worked below to contain flare-ups Among the pilots were defectors who had left the Syrian Air Force in during the uprising against President Bashar Assad Now several have rejoined under the new regime and are contributing to the emergency effort Col Ameen al-Ameen who returned to arrangement after years reported his squad has been flying day and night for consecutive days We are extinguishing fires and doing our duty toward our country and people who need us after this long period he mentioned By Saturday evening teams had successfully contained hotspots on all fronts The civil defense message praised the tremendous efforts of Syrian firefighters along with Turkish and Arab promotion teams and noted that roads and fire lines were being cut through the forest to help prevent future spread Minister of Emergency and Mishap Management Raed al-Saleh revealed the firefighting efforts had reached a promising stage by Saturday night The scene is changing the smoke is clearing and teams continue working intensively to extinguish remaining hotspots he reported The United Nations also stepped in to sponsorship the emergency response U N Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria Adam Abdelmoula released on Thursday the allocation of from the Syria Humanitarian Fund to assist those affected Initial U N assessments suggest thousands have been displaced with key damage to farmland infrastructure and livelihoods in the coastal region U N agencies declared they are coordinating closely with local leadership and stand ready to mobilize further aid if needed The wildfires have had catastrophic consequences on the local communities and require our immediate attention revealed Abdelmoula He called on international donors to step up warning that timely and flexible funding is critical to saving lives and protecting communities in moments of emergency Al-Saleh praised the assistance of firefighting teams from Turkey Jordan Lebanon Iraq and Qatar We promise our people that we will not leave until the last spark has been extinguished he commented Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region where experts warn that context change is intensifying conditions that lead to blazes Also below-average rainfall over the winter left Syrians struggling with water shortages this summer as the springs and rivers that normally supply much of the population with drinking water have gone dry Source