Wildfires raging in Lebanon!
Lebanon struggled through its worst wildfire in decades on the 13th of October this year. A strong heatwave and wild winds have spread these nasty fires to multiple towns south of Beirut. Approximately 3700 acres (15 square km) of trees in Lebanon have been burnt down and they are continuing at this very moment; thousands of people from southern Lebanese towns were forced to leave their homes and evacuate. According to the Red Cross in Lebanon, 18 people have been hospitalized and 88 were given emergency medical care just within the first week or so.
George Mitri, a professor, and director of the Land and Natural Resources Program at Lebanon’s University of Balamand estimated that around 200 fires have broken out in Lebanon in total. Before the fires, Lebanon experienced a heatwave. Mitri had warned several times that there is an increased threat of wildfires, however, the Lebanese government did not bother helping, which resulted in these horrible flames.
“Lebanese Civil Defense firefighters aren’t equipped to fight forest fires, we still have fires burning even after rain, like hot spots. There just aren’t enough human resources (firefighting resources) to fight these fires” George Mitri said.
As these fires continue, we can only hope for the best for Lebanon.
