News Center_ Algeria is experiencing a massive wave of forest fires, among the largest in recent years, after flames spread across dozens of northern and eastern provinces,leaving human and material losses in their wake, as firefighting teams continue efforts to contain the blazes amid rising temperatures and striong winds.

Firefighting operations have continued for about a week, with dozens of fires still burning in several provinces, particularly Annaba, El Tarf, Skikda, Guelma, and Souk Ahras_areas containing extensive forests and woodlands where wind and high temperatures have accelerated the fires' spread.

The mountainous municipality of Seraidi in Annaba province was among the hardest-hit areas, as flames approached residential clusters and health facilities, prompting the precautionary evacuation of the local hospital, alongside evacuations of residents from several threatened neighborhoods and villages.

According to reports, more than a hundred injured people were transported to medical fecilities on Wednesday, July 22, most suffering from somke inhalation or minor injuries caused by the fires. Preliminary assessments showed around 150 homes damaged in the Seraidi area alone, with specilized committees continuing to tally the extent of the losses.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry announced that the death toll had risen to six since the start of the wave of fires that swept through several provinces, while Civil Protection recorded around 1550 fires in less than two weeks_ a figure reflecting the widening scope of the blazes across the country's northern belt.

According to the latest Civil Protection data 82 fire hotspots were still beling fought across 24 provinces, while response teams managed to bring dozens of other fires under control, despite a continuing heat wave that pushed temperaures above 50°C in some areas, along with strong winds that hampered firefighting efforts and caused flare-ups at more than one site.

Securtiy investigating are still underway to determine whether the fires resulted from natural factors linked to the intense heat wave or whether some were deliberately set.

These fires come after consecutive years in which Algeria experienced similar waves that killed dozens and destroyed thousands of hectares of forests, farmland, and homes_ renewing calls from experts and specialists for improvements to disaster prevention and response systems, along with stronger early-warning mechanisms and  forest management to reduce the recurrence of such disasters in the future.