Syrian rescuers evacuated residential areas in Latakia province because of major forest fires.

Axar.az informs, citing SANA, Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh said that efforts are ongoing to control the fires that have spread across large areas in the northern Latakia countryside.

During an inspection tour accompanied by Latakia Governor Mohammad Othman, Minister al-Saleh said on Friday that civil defense and firefighting teams are continuing their intensive efforts to extinguish the fires and prevent them from reaching villages, in addition to evacuating residents from areas affected by the fires.

High wind speeds and rugged mountainous terrain contributed to the rapid spread of the massive fires that have been raging in the areas of Qastal Maaf, Zenzif, and Rabia in the Latakia countryside since yesterday.

This has been accompanied by complex field conditions that have hampered extinguishing efforts, as the geographical nature has prevented firefighting teams and equipment from reaching all the fires’ epicenters.

Civil Defense firefighting teams and fire brigades are exerting maximum efforts to combat the blazes, with human reinforcements, firefighting equipment, water supply systems, and heavy engineering equipment continuing to be dispatched to the area in an effort to control the fires and limit their spread.