A huge fire broke out in the Qobayat, north of Lebanon on Wednesday leaving families stuck in their homes due to the fast spread of the burning flames.
A spokesperson for the Lebanese Civil Defence (LCD) told Arab News the blaze was a result of high temperatures, humidity, and winds but was “almost under control” after more than 16 firefighting brigades responded to the fire.
Apocalyptic scene in North #Lebanon where wild fires are spreading fast since yesterday afternoon. At least one person died so far. High winds and temperatures are causing them to spread faster, with a total helpless government unable to mitigate, as always. pic.twitter.com/cAnaxCkMnr
— Luna Safwan - لونا صفوان (@LunaSafwan) July 29, 2021
“Fire brigades from Tripoli and Beirut have been extinguishing the enormous flames that we face every summer season,” the LCD spokesperson said. “The head of LCD operations is supervising the fire-extinguishing process.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) told Arab News it also dispatched teams to the Qobayat area when the fire broke out.
“We evicted families including women, children, and the elderly as our teams remain on the ground,” the LRC spokesperson said.
According to the LRC Twitter account, 17 people were evicted, 25 were treated at the site and eight were hospitalized as a result of the fire.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun ordered the Lebanese Army and LCD to exert all efforts to extinguish the fire and prevent it from reaching homes and properties. He also gave orders to evict any families that could be in the path of the fire.
Aoun asked local authorities to communicate with Cypriot authorities for assistance if the fire escalated.
The National News Agency (NNA) said the Lebanese Army rescued a number of citizens from their cars after they were surrounded by fires that broke out near the Qobayat-Rowaymah Highway.
One of Qobayat mayors, Youssef Nader, told Al-Jadeed TV that 60 percent of the fire that surrounded residential areas had been brought under control, but blazes in the nearby fields “remain out of control.”
Reports of a massive fire in north #Lebanon’s Qoubaiyat with flame fronts 10s of meters high closing in on homes.
— Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) July 28, 2021
Video via @HassanObeid16
pic.twitter.com/yKbWlcbyF1
One wounded person was transferred to the Al-Salam Hospital Emergency Department in Qobayat.
Lebanese Army helicopters, civil defense teams, and volunteers from Qobayat and other areas in Akkar continued to battle the blaze on Wednesday, which expanded towards new areas in Mount Akroum, the NNA reported.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
