Moroccan forests reduced to ashes

Wildfieres hits Moroccan forest Casablanca – Raja Battaoui More than 780 hectares of forest have been reduced to ashes since the beginning of the year in Morocco. The main factor for this phenomenon is the rise of the temperature that affected many Southern European countries.
The Moroccan Environment High Commission have revealed that up to 15 forest fires have started since the beginning of summer because of the heat, wind and human activity. Pine tree forests are the worst affected areas, with 600 hectares gone up in smoke.
The commission also stated that most of the forest fires witnessed by Morocco – about 238 fires since the beginning of this year – were mostly concentrated in the Northern area of Morocco.
Taza’s fire destroyed important forests basically composed of pines, oaks and cork oaks. Another fire broke out in the suburbs of Tangier which destroyed more than 10 hectares of forest after the firemen managed to control the blaze.
The forests of Khenifra witnessed a huge fire that started at the beginning of August. The fire was put out after 40 hours of constant work and effort where all human and material potentials were recruited to contain this fire.
Fouad Assaly of the Environment High Commission attributes the concentration of the fires in these regions to the sensitivity of the trees and the lack of fields. He also denounced the fact that some people have deliberately set fires in the forests.
Assaly also said that it was difficult to give accurate statistics about any financial loss because of the forest fires.However he insisted that these losses were serious - the pines cost the country 18000 Moroccan Dirhams for every burnt hectare.
Assaly added that fires have already destroyed an average of 3460 hectares of plants, trees and forests in the last 10 years. But this figure has been declining because of the preventive plan adopted by the country.