News Center_ Eastern Algerian provinces have suffered extensive agricultural and livestock farms.

Algeria's Interior Minister announced Wednesday, August 26, that 12 people had died due to the wave of forest fires that swept through several provinces in the east of the country, while 54 others suffered burns, six of them in critical condition receiving treatment in intensive care. The deaths were distributed across Jijel (5), Bejaia (4), and Tizi Ouzou (3).

Civil Protection reported that its teams evacuated families in Jijel province after flames reached populated areas, confirming that interventions continue to control fires in several provinces. Authorities also used helicopters and firefighting aircraft alongside ground equipment belonging to Civil Protection.

The Civil Defense apparatus had reported 173 fires on Wednesday, of which 56 were extinguished, while 75 remained blazing, most of them in the provinces of Bejaia, Tizi Ouzou, Skikda, Jijel, El Tarf, Mila, and Setif.

Meteorological services had warned on Tuesday of a heatwave and a significant rise in temperatures, amid climatic conditions favorable to the spread of fires, particularly with intensifying winds. The northern provinces of Algeria annually experience forest fires whose severity is exacerbated by drought and high temperatures linked to climate change.

In recent years, widespread fires have killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of hectares of forests and agricultural land, in addition to heavy losses in homes and property.