DAMASCUS, Syria - Fire crews on Wednesday battled numerous blazes amid a heatwave and have controlled most of them in Syria's northwestern province of Latakia, said officials, reported Xinhua.
Amer Ismail Hilal, governor of Latakia, said firefighters have been trying to control new blazes in the area for two days as flames have burnt large swathes of agricultural and forest areas in Latakia.
About 70 per cent of the regional fires were controlled, the Civil Defence Commander in Latakia told local media.
He noted that the fires randomly broke out in areas not connected to each other.
The current fires in Latakia started on Tuesday in a forested region. Strong winds and the difficult-to-reach mountainous terrain contributed to the rapid spread of fire.
According to Bassem Douba, director of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in Latakia, preliminary estimation indicated that over 5,000 dunums (five square km) were burned entirely.
An investigation into the cause of the fires and a final estimation of their damage are underway, said officials. - BERNAMA