Algiers, Algeria – November 16, 2025 – In a hard-fought battle against nature's fury, Algerian firefighters have successfully extinguished all active forest fires across the country, including a massive blaze that ravaged Tipaza province just west of the capital, Algiers, authorities announced on Saturday. The announcement brings a wave of relief to a nation battered by an unseasonal heatwave and prolonged drought, marking the end of a tense 48-hour crisis that displaced dozens of families and threatened vast swathes of ecologically vital woodland.
The General Directorate of Civil Protection, Algeria's primary firefighting agency, confirmed in an official statement that 55 separate fires had been fully contained since Friday morning, spanning 14 provinces from the western reaches of Chlef to the eastern frontiers of Tebessa. This comprehensive operation involved over 300 firefighters, two water-bombing aircraft, and ground teams battling flames fanned by gusts exceeding 60 kilometers per hour (37 miles per hour). "Our teams worked relentlessly through the night, overcoming extreme conditions to protect lives and property," the agency stated, emphasizing the role of coordinated evacuations in preventing casualties. Health officials reported no fatalities from the recent blazes, a stark contrast to deadlier infernos in prior years.
The epicenter of the crisis was Tipaza, a coastal province renowned for its Roman ruins and lush cork oak forests, where the most intense fires erupted on Thursday. Blazes tore through the wooded areas of Boukhlidja, Amarsha, Bouzoula, Shoula, and Douar al-Ikhwa Marsili, forcing the hasty evacuation of around 50 families from villages like Hadjret Ennous. Social media footage captured harrowing scenes of residents fleeing as flames licked at the edges of settlements, with thick plumes of smoke visible from Algiers, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) away. "We grabbed what we could and ran to the schools turned shelters," recounted one evacuee in a video shared widely on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the rapid response by gendarmerie units. By Saturday afternoon, all fires in Tipaza were declared extinguished, though five residual hotspots nationwide remain under vigilant patrol to guard against reignition.
The containment efforts extended beyond Tipaza, with full suppression achieved in a broad arc of provinces. In the west, Chlef's arid scrublands were secured; centrally, the verdant hills of Tizi Ouzou, Medea, Ain Defla, Bouira, and Boumerdes saw their blazes doused; and in the east, the rugged terrains of Bejaia, Jijel, Skikda, Mila, Setif, Souk Ahras, and Tebessa were similarly brought under control. This multi-front campaign underscores Algeria's evolving wildfire response strategy, bolstered by recent investments in aerial support and drone surveillance introduced after the devastating 2021 season. Prime Minister Aïmen Benabderrahmane personally inspected operations in Tipaza on Thursday night, signaling the government's hands-on commitment.
At the heart of this crisis lies an aberrant meteorological twist: a late-autumn surge of hot, dry sirocco winds – known locally as "al-Shihili" – that propelled temperatures in Algiers to an astonishing 31°C (87.8°F) on Thursday, far above the November norm of around 20°C (68°F). For a Mediterranean coastal city accustomed to drizzly autumns and occasional mountain snowfalls, this heatwave felt like a summer rerun, desiccating vegetation and turning forests into tinderboxes. Northern Algeria's climate patterns, once predictable with heavy rains from October onward, have been upended by climate change, extending dry spells and intensifying fire risks. The National Office of Meteorology forecasts a welcome respite, with temperatures plummeting noticeably over the weekend, showers arriving by Monday, and even snow flurries possible in higher elevations later in the week – a balm for scorched lands averaging 86mm (3.4 inches) of November rain historically.
This episode is no isolated incident but a symptom of Algeria's deepening environmental woes. The country has endured a crippling six-year drought, the longest in modern records, slashing dam levels by up to 70% in central and western basins and crippling agriculture. Since 2022, recurrent drought-heat combos have ignited unprecedented fire seasons, claiming over 100 lives in 2021 alone, injuring hundreds more, and charring tens of thousands of hectares annually. Year-to-date 2025 statistics from the Directorate General of Forests paint a grim picture: 811 fires across 32 provinces have devoured 40,001 hectares (98,870 acres) of forest, scrub, and brush – a figure that, while below the 132,000-hectare catastrophe of 2021, still eclipses the 2010-2019 average of 32,000 hectares yearly. The European Forest Fire Information System reports that as of late November 2024, over 8,100 hectares had already burned, with 2025's toll likely to swell further before winter rains fully take hold.
Human causes dominate these blazes, with over 80% linked to agricultural burns, negligence, or arson, according to wildfire management analyses. Algeria's forests, covering 4.11 million hectares and representing a biodiversity hotspot in the Mediterranean basin, are 99% fire-prone, per a 2021 World Bank diagnostic. The economic toll is staggering: lost timber, eroded soil, and diminished carbon sinks exacerbate food insecurity and flood risks, while displacing wildlife like the endangered Barbary macaque.
In response, Algeria has ramped up resilience measures. Post-2021 reforms include AI-equipped drones for hotspot detection, expanded firebreaks, and community training programs under the Community-Based Fire Management model. The government leased Russian aircraft this season and is pushing stricter forest access controls. International partners, including the World Bank via PROGREEN initiatives, are aiding sustainable reforestation, targeting cedar and oak recovery in fire-scarred zones like Kabylia. Ecologist Arezki Derridj of Tizi Ouzou University warns, however, that without curbing emissions and enhancing water infrastructure, "these fires will only grow fiercer."
As patrols continue and displaced families return home, Algerians exhale. Smoke may linger, but so does hope: the swift containment here saved lives and landscapes, a testament to lessons etched in ash. With rains on the horizon, the focus shifts to rebuilding – planting seeds of green amid the black. Yet, as climate models predict hotter, drier futures for the Maghreb, this victory feels bittersweet, a fragile pause in an escalating war against the elements.
