Déclenchement anticipant du Plan national de lutte contre les feux de forêts

Anticipatory triggering of the National Plan to combat forest fires

Seasonal, 25 aerial devices, drones, forest trails and water points

“We have brought forward the date of application of the National Plan for the fight against forest fires by one month due to global warming, and with the agreement of the Prime Ministry and that of Finance, we will recruit seasonal workers in order to to strengthen vigilance and prevention and, therefore, reduce the losses caused by forest fires which, it should be noted, resulted in 4.5 billion dinars in losses during the year 2023,” announced yesterday, Tuesday , the general delegate for major risks at the Ministry of the Interior and Local Authorities, in this case Hamid Afra during his appearance on Channel III of Algerian Radio.
The host of the program “Morning Guest” also made another announcement, that of the decision to hastily enter into force of the National Anti-Forest Fire Plan, “it has been advanced to one month because, usually the date of its application is initiated on June 1 of each year but, as for this period 2024, it has been brought forward to May 1 due to the climate changes taking place in the world, which we must adapt with,” advised Hamid Afra.
Speaking about the National Plan to combat forest fires planned for this year, the general delegate for major risks at the Ministry of the Interior reported the holding of two interministerial councils in the space of just two months on this subject, “which reflects the great interest that the State has in the fight against forest fires which has become, also and above all, a source of inspiration for criminals to attack and attack the country,” observed Hamid Afra. “An Interministerial Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, was held the day before yesterday, Monday, on the subject of preventing and combating forest fires. This is the second Interministerial Council after that of March 26, during which the National Plan for combating forest fires was examined. This Plan includes numerous preventive actions, in particular the opening of forest trails and the creation of water points and landing areas for air assets,” specifies the general delegate in charge of major risks at the Ministry of the Interior.
On the airwaves of Channel III and through the “Morning Guest” program, the head of the Ministry of the Interior revealed the mobilization, for this year 2024, of 25 aerial devices as well as drones of detection. “We have strengthened our air resources for the fourth successive year to be more present on the ground and better fight against forest fires,” said Hamid Afra. In total, “12 out of 13 aircraft, even bomber planes, are already operational after having received them gradually, six of which have already been received at Algiers airport, the seventh will arrive in the fourth quarter of this year, while six other aircraft were chartered as part of the execution of the national fire plan,” reported Hamid Afra during the “Morning Guest” program. Better, the same official recalled the existence of 12 other aerial devices responsible for fighting forest fires, “if we add the already existing means, namely six helicopters from Civil Protection and five other devices from the Ministry of National Defense, without forgetting the Beriev acquired and which has a capacity of 12,000 liters of water, this makes a fleet of 25 aerial devices mobilized this season to fight fires, without forgetting the mobilization of drones which are also used for fire detection,” assured and reassured Hamid Afra. Concerning water, the major risks manager within the supervisory authority was reassuring by saying: “We have 12 dams eligible for scooping, because they have a body of water with a length of at least 500 meters, a condition for an aircraft to be able to refuel there. There are also water basins made in the forests and sea water available along the coast,” said Hamid Afra.
Before concluding his intervention on Channel III’s morning show, the general delegate at the Ministry of the Interior revealed that most fires are of criminal origin, “this is why the law qualifies a terrorist crime as “voluntary act of setting fires and the handling of these cases is done at the level of the specialized center of Sidi M’hamed”, he underlined.
Sofiane Abi