Since Thursday, devastating wildfires have ravaged Syria’s coastal mountain region of Jabal Turkman. This predicament marks a formidable test for the country’s new administration as it attempts to rebuild from more than a decade of war and embargo. Fires have burned a 20-kilometer (12 miles) stretch of the corridor, preventing passage on major connecting roads. Thousands have already evacuated their homes in a desperate attempt to escape the flames that advance on their communities.
Now, wildfires are consuming the country, burning over 1 million acres (~4000 km^2) of forest. Emergency services are inundated and on a razor-thin margin. Humanitarian access is radically limited, with basic services absent even in government-held areas of Syria — making a containment strategy difficult to achieve. Abdel Kafi Kayyal, the director of civil defense in Lattakia province, said that hundreds of difficulties still obstruct firefighting operations. High winds, harsh topography and explosive landmines left by years of war pose daunting challenges to crews fighting the fires.
The situation has escalated as the fires spread into Tartous province, despite the mobilization of more than 60 firefighting units. The severity of the crisis has led Syrian officials to call for foreign help. In response, Turkey has sent two helicopters and 11 firefighting vehicles to help contain the blaze. Further help came from Jordan as civil defense teams crossed the border on Sunday to fight with the Jordanians against the raging fires.
NASA’s FIRMS service has provided the first comprehensive satellite data which shows that these fires have now destroyed more than 180 square kilometers. This burned area is actually larger than the entire capital of Syria, Damascus. Alarmingly, their rage has already burned over 3% of all of Syria’s forested territory in the span of just three days. According to official government statistics released in 2023, Syria’s forest cover is an estimated 5,270 km2.
Drone images have shown the horrible progress of the infernos through rough wilderness. It documents their accelerating invasion of highly-flammable hardwood forests. Scorching temperatures and parched landscapes have exacerbated the severity and speed of these blazes. This is very concerning for long-term ecological harm in an area that is already deeply challenged to re-emerge.
