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Tunisian authorities evacuated more than 100 families in the central province of Kairouan and the northwestern province of Siliana late Monday, as wildfires fueled by strong winds spread toward residential areas, officials said.
Member of Parliament Nabil al-Hamdi said 100 families were evacuated from Mount Qaytoun in Kairouan's El Oueslatia district after a fire that originated on Mount Bargou in Siliana.
Speaking to the state news agency TAP, Hamdi said strong winds accelerated the fire's spread and pushed the flames close to residential areas, prompting authorities to move the affected families into a school.
In Siliana, Regional Commissioner for Agricultural Development Jamal al-Farchichi said strong winds caused the Mount Boulemane fire to expand and reach the Ain Bousadia area in the Bargou district, on the border with Kairouan.
He said several families were evacuated from the area and housed in a training and summer camp center, adding that no casualties were reported.
Two military aircraft were deployed to extinguish fire pockets that were difficult to reach by land, while reinforcements arrived from the provinces of Zaghouan, Kairouan and Kef, Farchichi said.
On Sunday, Tunisia's official news agency reported that 10 families had been evacuated from an area near the mountain, while a local hospital received 18 people who suffered panic attacks due to the renewed fires.
The wildfires broke out amid a severe heat wave in Tunisia, with temperatures reaching 49.8 degrees Celsius (121.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kairouan, according to the Tunisian Observatory of Weather and Climate.
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