Syria (TDI): Since Thursday, massive wildfires have spread through Syria’s coastal mountain region of Jabal Turkman, destroying thousands of forests and forcing people to evacuate, while overwhelming emergency services and rescue response.
Director of civil defense in Latakia province, Abdel Kafi Kayyal, said that efforts to control the fire are hindered by strong winds, rugged terrain, and danger of landmines left behind from years of war.
The fires have resulted in burning along a line of 20 kilometers, cutting off roads and forcing thousands to flee. Fires have also left some areas without power as a key node in local energy grid, Al-Basit power station, has been damaged, resulting in widespread electricity outages and disruption in water pumping stations.
“This fire is extremely difficult,” Kayyal told the media on Saturday, adding that reinforcements have been called in from across the country.
The authorities of Syria have appealed for international assistance to which Turkey has sent two helicopters and 11 firefighting vehicles and Jordanian civil defense teams crossed the border on Sunday to join teams to contain fire.
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Despite the efforts of more than 60 firefighting units, fires have been spread into parts of Tartous province.
Satellite data from NASA’s FIRMS service indicates that the burned area now exceeds 180 square kilometers, an area which is larger than the capital, Damascus.
According to Syrian government figures from 2023, the country’s forest cover stands at around 5,270 square kilometers, suggesting that these fires have consumed more than 3% of the country’s total forested land in just three days.
The fires have displaced at least 1,120 people and directly or indirectly affected more than 5,000 residents. Over a dozen villages, including Qastal Maaf, Al-Rihaniyah, Shalaf, Kassab, and Ras al-Ayn, have suffered extensive damage.
Latakia has endured wildfire outbreaks for five years consecutively, but the April–June 2025 season stands as the worst recorded to date, with over 3,500 fire incidents nationally.
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