Syrian authorities say Latakia wildfires nearly contained after days of burning

Syrian authorities said on Thursday that they had brought wildfires raging across the country’s coastal province of Latakia under "near-total" control, except in two locations in the Jabal Turkman area.

In a statement to the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syria’s Minister of Emergencies and Disaster Management, Raed Al-Saleh, said that firefighting, civil defence, and forestry teams had managed to extinguish most of the fires.

He said that extinguishing operations began at 4 am local time (0100 GMT) on Thursday morning, but that strong winds had restarted some of the fires.

Syrian emergency workers received assistance from Turkey, which sent 12 firefighting aircraft, specialised vehicles and ground teams. Jordan and Lebanon also sent aircraft and firefighting crews.

"Efforts are ongoing for full containment despite rugged terrain and fluctuating weather conditions," Saleh added.

He also said that one civil defence crew member was seriously injured after some personnel were trapped by flames.

Saleh said that two major fires remained unextinguished in the Jabal al-Turkman area, one in a valley accessible only by air, and the other on a mountainside where landmines laid during the Syrian conflict were present.

There were reports of explosions in the area on Thursday morning, but these didn’t cause explosions.

The fires in Syria’s coastal area have been raging since 3 July. They began in Latakia province and spread to neighbouring Tartus, Hama and Idlib provinces. Around 5,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, and the situation has been exacerbated by equipment shortages and the difficulty of reaching affected areas.

Syria is currently in the midst of a heatwave and one of the worst droughts it has ever faced.

Environmental organisations have called for the launch of a long-term recovery plan including reforestation, landmine removal and community education programmes on fire prevention.