Heat
Wave and Forest Fires Claim Lives in Northern Algeria
The North Africa Journal: August 30, 2007
Algeria is facing an unprecedented heat wave resulting
in forest fires that are felt across the entire northern
regions.
In the Tizi Ouzou province in the central northeast of
the country at least four people died from severe burns.
The temperature in Algiers reached the 110 Fahrenheit or
42 Celsius, pushing power consumption to peak levels. On
August 28th, a total of 5,885 megawatts (MW) was reached,
a 400 MW on top of the 2006 record.
Asked about the weather, Algiers residents say that they
could feel particles of ashes in the air. The culprits are
the fires that have turned this end of summer into a gloomy
and dark period.
Forest fires are now widespread across the northern regions,
from Bejaia and Jijel, to Tizi Ouzou, Aïn Defla, Boumerdès,
and Tipaza. In the Yakouren region in the Kabylie, firefighters
are battling fires on 28 fronts, according to El-Watan newspaper
reported, a battle that appears difficult to win. The newspaper
says 36 fires are currently destroying forests in Annaba,
Guelma and El Tarf. In all, 74 fires have been active over
the past couple of days in 19 provinces, affecting 21,000
hectares of land (52,000 acres). Since the beginning of
summer, 1,204 fires have been registered, making 2008 the
busiest season for Algerian firefighters.
click
here to subscribe and access all North Africa Journal content.
