The fires sweeping across northwestern Syria this summer have compounded an already dire situation in a region still divided by conflict and isolated from the world.
, from Greece to Algeria. A transformer explosion ignited the fires, according to a local forestry expert in Latakia, who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisal. Heat waves, low humidity and strong winds allowed the flames to spread quickly across the pine-covered mountains and sparked other fires in neighboring Idlib and Hama provinces.Husam Zelito, 47, has fought fires for more than 20 years in and around Idlib.
Even in government-held Latakia, war and Western sanctions have depleted local resources, the forestry expert said: In 2011, “we had around 550 firetrucks. Now there are less than 140, and they lack maintenance.” said at least 370 acres had been burned; weeks later, no updated figures have been released. Latakia’s governor, Amer Hilal, has formed a committee to assess the full impact. No deaths have been reported in government areas.“We have to wait a bit before getting a precise estimate,” the expert in Latakia said, but there’s “massive destruction — the forests are intertwined with a lot of agricultural lands and farms. People had to leave their homes.
On its Facebook page, the Latakia Fire Brigade thanked Assad for his visit but asked him to raise the profile “of firefighters’ work in Syria ... which is considered one of the lowest among government.”the government-aligned Al Watan newspaper that firefighters should receive higher salaries, noting that sanitation workers are better-paid.
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