Algeria shifts residents and hospital patients as wildfires spread in Annaba

ALGIERS: Algerian authorities moved residents out of fire-hit areas in the eastern province of Annaba and evacuated a hospital in Seraidi late Tuesday as crews worked to contain fast-moving wildfires.

In a statement, the General Directorate of Civil Protection said the fires in Seraidi had advanced quickly because of record temperatures and strong winds. It said all available staff and equipment had been deployed in an effort to bring the situation under control.

The evacuations covered people living in areas under threat, while patients at Seraidi Hospital were transferred to safer locations under what Civil Protection described as a precautionary plan aimed at protecting them and maintaining medical services. Firefighters on the ground, backed by aerial support, were continuing operations in coordination with the Algerian army and other security agencies, according to the statement.

Civil Protection also called on the public to follow official guidance, stay away from affected zones and fire locations, and depend on official information rather than rumours.

Fires recorded across multiple provinces

As of 9 pm local time on Tuesday, or 2000 GMT, Algeria had registered 170 wildfires. Civil Protection said 104 of them had been put out, while work was continuing on 66 active fires spread across 19 provinces.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said six people had died in forest fires that have affected several provinces in recent days.

Heatwave and vegetation losses

The fires have come during more than two weeks of exceptionally high temperatures in Algeria. Temperatures have climbed to 49 degrees Celsius, or 120.2 degrees Fahrenheit, in Mediterranean coastal cities, alongside hot and powerful southerly winds.

According to Civil Protection data, 3,719 wildfires were recorded from May 1 to July 20, compared with 1,501 during the same period in 2025. That represented an increase of nearly 150%.

The General Directorate of Forests said more than 1,666 hectares, or 4,117 acres, of vegetation were destroyed over that period, compared with 467 hectares, or 1,154 acres, a year earlier. The agency said this marked the worst vegetation damage since the major wildfires that swept Algeria in the summer of 2021.