Hassen Djebril and Mohammad Sio
15 July 2026•Update: 15 July 2026
Algerian authorities said Wednesday that firefighters are continuing to battle 19 wildfires across 10 provinces as the country grapples with an intense heat wave, while electricity has been fully restored to 16 provinces hit by a widespread blackout.
The General Directorate of Civil Protection said in a statement that 139 fires had been reported since Tuesday. Firefighters have extinguished 120 of them, while operations continue to contain 19 fires in 10 provinces, including the Setif, Bejaia, and Saida provinces.
The agency said military aircraft have been deployed to support firefighting efforts by dropping water on the affected areas.
The fires killed one person and seriously injured another in Setif on Tuesday.
Separately, Energy and Renewable Energy Minister Mourad Adjal told state television that electricity had been fully restored in the 16 provinces affected by Tuesday night's outage.
The blackout was caused by a technical malfunction at an electrical facility in the Sidi Okba area of Biskra Province after extreme heat and high humidity triggered cascading power fluctuations, he said.
On Monday, Algeria recorded its highest electricity demand on record at 21,870 megawatts as the heat wave intensified across much of the country.
State-owned utility Sonelgaz said the new peak exceeded Sunday's previous record of 21,120 megawatts by 750 megawatts.
Algeria's national meteorological service expects the heat wave to continue through Friday, with temperatures reaching up to 49C (120.2F) in desert regions and exceeding 45C (113F) in some Mediterranean coastal provinces.
Algeria has experienced recurring droughts and rising temperatures in recent years, increasing the risk of forest and vegetation fires.
Large wildfires in recent years have killed and injured dozens of people and destroyed vast areas of vegetation, prompting authorities to impose tougher penalties, including prison sentences of up to 30 years, for those responsible for starting fires.
