At least seven killed, two injured in Algeria forest fires

Firefighters and helicopters are trying to contain several blazes threatening residents in Tizi Ouzou province.

At least seven people have been killed in Algeria as forest fires spread in the North African country, the civil defense authority said on Tuesday.

Two people were seriously injured, it added.

State radio reported that some houses were completely destroyed, and the al-Bilad newspaper reported that schools in Tizi Ouzou province were receiving citizens displaced by the fires.

Tizi Ouzou province is located around 150 kilometres east of the capital Algiers.

Al-Bilad reported that civilians have volunteered to help civil defense teams, who have been working on putting out fires since Monday.

At least 19 fires broke out in 14 provinces across the country.

Enormous wildfires have continued to rage across parts of Europe and the United States in recent weeks.

In Greece, firefighters battled the flames for days, with thousands of people being forced to evacuate. The blazes, which began last week, were triggered by the country’s worst heatwave in more than 30 years.

keep the people of tizi ouzou in your prayers?? #algeriaisburning pic.twitter.com/odyWgC2u6i

— ♠️ (@cicegimeda) August 9, 2021

Rain brought relief to some parts of Turkey, as more than 5,000 firefighters fought blazes for the 11th day in a row.

More than 250 fires were burning in Russia, with the northeastern region of Siberia most impacted by the flames.

Meanwhile, flames have ravaged northern parts of the US state of California, with authorities saying on Saturday that eight people are missing.