M’diq-Findeq: Firefighters Contain Wildfire Almost Entirely – Official

M’diq – The efforts made by all stakeholders have helped to contain almost entirely the fire that broke out Monday in the forest of Kodiat Tifour, under the prefecture of M’diq-Fnideq, said Wednesday the provincial director of the National Agency for Water and Forests of Tetouan, Othmane El Azzaoui.

In a statement to M24, MAP’s 24-hour news channel, Azzaoui said that air and ground interventions have largely neutralized the danger of expansion of the fire, adding that efforts are currently focused on the elimination of small foci of embers to avoid a resumption of the fire, which has destroyed nearly 125 ha of forest cover, formed mainly of eucalyptus, pine and secondary grasses.

The speed of spread of the fire was aggravated by the difficulty of the terrain, the density of forest cover and the strong wind that blew on the region, he noted, noting that the fight against this fire has required the mobilization of all authorities and services concerned, including the Civil Protection, the Royal Gendarmerie, the National Security, the Auxiliary Forces, the Royal Armed Forces, the National Promotion and Water and Forests, in perfect coordination with provincial and local authorities.

El Azzaoui also stressed that the aerial interventions, conducted through three Canadair aircraft specialized in firefighting that have carried out a total of 138 drop operations, have helped to extinguish the most dangerous fires and prevent their spread despite the adverse natural conditions.

The efforts on the ground had as main objective to contain the fire and avoid its spread to inhabited areas, he stressed.

The Prosecutor General of the King at the Court of Appeal of Tetouan had announced to have given instructions to the competent judicial police to open a thorough judicial investigation to determine the circumstances of this disaster and identify the culprits.

At this stage of the preliminary investigation, four suspects have been arrested, currently in custody pending the completion of the investigation to then decide on the appropriate legal proceedings.

In addition, three elements of the Directorate General of Civil Protection died and two others were seriously injured Monday when their vehicle fell into a ravine while fighting the fire that broke out in the forest of Kodiat Tifour.