ALGIERS, ALGERIA — A destructive wave of wildfires fueled by a severe heatwave has swept across northern and northeastern Algeria, killing at least 12 people and injuring 54 others. Emergency services and Civil Protection teams are battling dozens of active blazes that have forced widespread evacuations across multiple coastal and mountainous provinces.
The fatalities were confirmed by Interior Minister Saïd Sayoud late on Wednesday, August 26, 2026 following a rapid surge in fire outbreaks. High temperatures and fierce winds have rapidly driven the flames through densely forested areas, threatening rural communities and forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes.
Key details of the disaster indicate that the wildfires heavily impacted northern and northeastern Algeria, particularly across the Béjaïa, Jijel, and Tizi Ouzou provinces. The blazes resulted in 12 confirmed fatalities—5 in Jijel, 4 in Béjaïa, and 3 in Tizi Ouzou—along with 54 injured individuals, six of whom remain in critical condition. Across the country, authorities recorded over 154 individual fire outbreaks, including a concentration of 36 distinct blazes in Béjaïa alone.
Emergency response efforts involved mass evacuations of threatened residents, the deployment of both aerial and ground firefighting units, and the mobilization of field medical support to treat victims on site. Firefighters have managed to contain several blazes in neighboring regions like Skikda, El Tarf, and Bouira, but the situation remains highly volatile in Béjaïa and Jijel, where multiple active hotspots continue to burn near populated areas.
The disaster comes as North Africa grapples with an intense summer heatwave, leaving vast stretches of vegetation dangerously dry. Algerian authorities have launched emergency relief efforts and deployed medical teams to provide intensive care for victims suffering from severe burn injuries and smoke inhalation as firefighting operations continue around the clock.
In response to the catastrophic devastation, international environmental organizations and neighboring nations have expressed solidarity, offering auxiliary air support and disaster relief supplies to bolster Algeria's overwhelmed response teams. Government officials have promised full financial assistance and rapid rebuilding aid for agricultural workers and families who lost livestock, homes, and livelihoods to the sweeping flames.
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