Morocco battles Sefrou forest fire for 5th day

Moroccan authorities continued efforts on Wednesday to contain a wildfire that had burned about 120 hectares (297 acres) of forest in the northern province of Sefrou as firefighters battled the blaze for a fifth consecutive day.

Othman Bensouda, regional director of the National Agency for Water and Forests in Sefrou, told Anadolu that authorities deployed three Canadair amphibious firefighting aircraft and Moroccan army personnel to support efforts to contain the blaze.

Bensouda said no casualties had been reported, but the fire had caused extensive damage to forested areas.

He said members of the Moroccan army, the Royal Gendarmerie, Civil Protection, Auxiliary Forces and firefighting teams from the National Agency for Water and Forests are taking part in the operation.

Authorities have contained the main active fire fronts, while efforts continue to fully extinguish the blaze, Bensouda added.

The fire broke out on Saturday in the Taida forest in Sefrou province amid high temperatures and strong winds that fueled its spread and complicated firefighting efforts.

Earlier, the National Agency for Water and Forests warned that wildfire risk had reached the highest, red alert level in nine provinces in northern and eastern Morocco.

The red alert level indicates an extreme risk of wildfires, while the orange level signals a high risk requiring enhanced preventive measures and the avoidance of activities that could ignite fires.

The agency uses an early warning system to assess wildfire risks based on weather conditions and vegetation cover.

Moroccan authorities previously said 310 wildfires had been recorded nationwide between the start of the year and July 20, burning about 1,850 hectares (4,571 acres).

Forests cover about 12% of Morocco's land area, and authorities rely on drones, aerial assets and ground teams to combat wildfires and limit their spread.