FOREST FIRE IN LEBANON

Forest fires blazed in several parts of Lebanon on Tuesday, including the vicinity of the ancient town of Deir Al Qamar southeast of Beirut, civil defence and security sources said. “An environmental disaster has hit Deir Al Qamar. The fires have reached homes and now they’re putting out the fires there,” the town’s deputy governor told Voice of Lebanon radio. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Television footage showed several burned-out cars on roads in the Shouf region, which includes the Christian town of Deir Al Qamar, as well as smoke billowing from charred woodland. Big forest fires were also reported in the northern region of Akkar, and smaller ones in the Metn area northeast of Beirut. “Seven or eight fires erupted overnight and it may be that heavy winds fanned them,” a security source said.

It was not clear how the fires had started. The army was using helicopters to spray water over the blazes.