Arabic version: حرائق الغابات تقتل ما لا يقل عن 12 شخصاً في شمال الجزائر
According to BBC News, at least 12 people have been killed and dozens injured as wildfires swept through large areas of northern Algeria. Civil protection authorities said the fires affected several provinces along the country’s northern coastline.
Interior Minister Said Sayoud said 54 people had suffered burn injuries, including at least six being treated in intensive care. He said five people were killed in Jijel province, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou. Firefighters were battling 69 blazes across Algeria earlier on Wednesday evening, the civil protection agency said.
Many homes in Bejaia and Jijel were evacuated, according to the civil protection agency and local media. Sayoud travelled to Bejaia with Health Minister Mohamed Seddik Ait Messaoudene to assess local firefighting and evacuation efforts. Footage shared by local broadcaster Jijel News showed residents sheltering in a post office while thick smoke billowed outside.
The fires come during a severe heatwave affecting northern Africa, particularly Tunisia and Algeria. Algeria regularly experiences forest fires during summer, but climate change has intensified and worsened recent wildfires, the report said. The World Meteorological Organization said extreme heat has become common in North Africa, which warmed by 0.43C per decade between 1991 and 2025.
Bejaia suffered destructive fires three years ago that killed 30 people. Last month, authorities recorded at least six fire-related deaths as crews tackled more than 2,000 blazes across Algeria in July alone.
