Algeria wildfires kill 12 as residents evacuated amid severe heatwave

At least 12 people have been killed and 54 injured in wildfires across several provinces in Algeria, as authorities battle dozens of blazes amid an intense heatwave in North Africa.

Algeria’s Interior Minister Said Sayoud said late Wednesday (26 August) that five people were killed in Jijel province, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou.

Six of the injured were in critical condition and receiving intensive care.

The country’s civil protection services recorded 154 wildfires nationwide on Wednesday, with 36 reported in Bejaia alone.

Eighteen of the fires in the province had been brought under control.

An eight-year-old boy and a 22-year-old woman were among those killed in Bejaia, according to local media.

Residents evacuated as fires threaten homes

Several families were evacuated in Jijel after wildfires approached residential areas, according to Algeria’s civil protection authorities, while residents in both Jijel and Bejaia were also evacuated as fires spread.

Videos circulating on social media showed residents sheltering inside a building as thick smoke filled the area.

Three major national highways linking eastern parts of Algeria were also closed because of fires near Bejaia, Jijel and Setif, according to the gendarmerie.

Sayoud and Health Minister Mohamed Seddik Ait Messaoudene travelled to Bejaia to assess firefighting operations and the condition of those injured, Algeria’s official APS news agency reported.

Asharq Al-Awsat reported that 37 active fires had been recorded nationwide on Wednesday, including five in Jijel. The civil protection authorities did not provide figures for the number of people evacuated or displaced.

Heat and drought worsen wildfire threat

Wildfires are a recurring summer hazard in northern Algeria, where increasingly severe drought and extreme heat linked to climate change have intensified the threat.

Authorities recorded nearly 2,000 fires nationwide in July alone, while previous wildfire seasons have caused significant loss of life and destroyed forests, farmland and homes.

More than 30 people were killed in July 2023 when fires swept through areas around Bejaia, destroying thousands of hectares of forest and farmland as well as hundreds of homes.

The latest fires come as an exceptional heatwave continues to affect North Africa, particularly Algeria and neighbouring Tunisia.