Forest fires blazed in several areas of Lebanon on Tuesday, including around the ancient town of Deir al-Qamar, a world heritage site.
“Most of Deir al-Qamar is engulfed in thick, black smoke. There’s not one wooded area left. Some villas are ablaze, cars are burnt, the phone and electricity lines are burnt,” resident Joseph al-Itr told Reuters by telephone.
About 85 fires started on Tuesday and 118 on Monday, the head of the Lebanese Civil Defence, Brigadier General Darweesh Hobeika, told Reuters. A civil defence source estimated the fires had destroyed around 100 hectares of woodland.
“It’s a 95 percent possibility that the fires were caused intentionally by people trying to obtain charcoal as a cheaper substitute for fuel,” Hobeika said.
The source said 60-70 percent of the fires had been contained but some still raged in Rashayya in the eastern Bekaa Valley and Barouk in the southeastern Shouf region.
