Wildfires Alarm Tunisia as Extreme Hot Weather Continues

Tunisian authorities evacuated on Wednesday dozens of residents from their homes in Melloulech, a town in Tabarka city in the country's north, in response to sudden wildfires rapidly spreading through the forests. Efforts by firefighters to contain the flames are ongoing amid fears of the fire's escalation.

In a statement, the local civil protection administration in Jendouba Governorate said its officers had managed to save citizens trapped by the fire in their homes, adding that efforts are still being made to control the fire and prevent it from spreading to populated areas.

Video clips have documented the fires consuming tall trees in the forest and emitting dense clouds of smoke. The clips also showed firefighting teams racing against time to extinguish the flames and prevent them from reaching residential neighborhoods bordering the forest and main roads, with the support and assistance of citizens.

Tunisia is currently experiencing a record rise in temperatures, which is expected to continue until the end of this month, raising fears of a repeat of the previous years' fire scenarios, which damaged vast areas of the country's forest cover. During the same period last year, Tunisia recorded more than 10 fires affecting several forests, resulting in the loss of approximately 500 hectares of forest. The most dangerous of these was the fire that broke out in Boukornine Mountain south of the capital, Tunis, which took several days to extinguish.