October 16, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

Wild forest fires broke out on October 14 in the Mount Lebanon near the capital, Beirut amid a heatwave and strong winds. The fires soon spread through the dense forest near the towns of Meshref and Damour in Chouf and swept into the residential areas.  It was reported more than 100 blazes erupting in the Chouf and Metn regions.

Dr. George Mitri, Associate Professor and Director of Land and Natural Resources Program at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, said prior to the latest fires Lebanon had lost 3 million trees in 2019 alone, diminishing trees planted over the past 15 years under reforestation initiatives, from forest fires.

Lebanon's government had contacted several countries and called for international assistance to tackle the fires. As of October 15, 2 Cypriot aircraft were sent from the nearby Mediterranean island of Cyprus in firefighting operations in the morning. Meanwhile, Jordan deployed 2 planes to Beirut airport at night. In addition, Greece were also scheduled to deploy 2 aircraft to Beirut to help put out the flames.

There were fires spread out in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus and the central province of Homs in neighboring Syria. But Syrian authorities quickly managed to bring the fires under control.

Photo:Webshot.