Conflict Incident Report

The Civil Defense and Lebanese Army helicopters battled until late Monday a wildfire that engulfed large areas of the Bisri valley.

The wildfire started when some dry branches on the eastern outskirts of the Bisri valley, which separates Jezzine and Chouf, caught fire. The flames spread quickly due to the wind and high temperatures and burnt through large swaths of woods in the regions of Midan in south Lebanon to Amatour in the Chouf. Difficult terrain and narrow roads hindered the efforts of Civil Defense firefighters deployed to the site from reaching the blaze. Lebanese Army helicopters also found it difficult to reach the flames with ashes filling the sky. The firefighters resorted to extinguishing the flames from a close distance and were still battling the blaze when The Daily Star went to press. At least 15,000 square meters of land covered by pine, olive and oak trees were decimated in the fire, Midan’s Mayor Maroun Abi Samra told The Daily Star.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Aug-18/311548-south-l...