Algerian firemen faced blazes on Tuesday across the tinder-dry Kabylia area on the Mediterranean coast (North) that killed 37 people, burned houses and beach resorts, and turned vast swaths of forest into charred wasteland, reported France24.
An undisclosed number of individuals were injured due to burns or smoke inhalation, and over 1,500 people were evacuated as flames raged over 15 provinces, including Bejaia, Bouira, and Jijel.
Intense flames burned over the mountain woods, exacerbated by high winds and scorching summer temperatures that reached 48 degrees Celsius on Monday in the nation.
Temperatures over areas of North Central Africa reached levels never observed before in recorded history. Both Tunis and Bizerte—in northern coastal Tunisia–flirted with 50 degrees Celsius, with diurnal minimums forecast to hover above 32 this morning.
Witnesses recounted escaping “blowtorch-like” walls of flames, while TV images showed burned automobiles, burnt-out stores, and smoldering fields and scrubland as thousands of inhabitants were evacuated.
Authorities asserted that 7,500 firemen and 350 vehicles–aided by aircraft assistance–were battling fires across the entire country, most notably in the Boumerdes, Tizi Ouzou, Jijel, and Skikda districts, said Al Jazeera.
Last year, 1,240 fires across Algeria destroyed a total of 5,345 hectares of forests along with a zoo. One hundred fatalities were recorded.