At least 12 killed as wildfires ravage northeastern Algeria amid heatwave
At least 12 people have been killed and 54 others injured as wildfires ripped through parts of northeastern Algeria on Wednesday, according to Algeria's Minister of Interior Said Sayoud, who spoke to reporters during a hospital visit in Souk El Thenine, Bejaia province. The deaths occurred across the provinces of Jijel, Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou, with five fatalities recorded in Jijel, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou. Six of the 54 injured are in critical condition, Sayoud said. (Al Jazeera, Aug. 27, 2026)
By Source Reporters Newsdesk
Thu, 27 August 2026 · 2 min read
At least 12 people have been killed and 54 others injured as wildfires ripped through parts of northeastern Algeria on Wednesday, according to Algeria's Minister of Interior Said Sayoud, who spoke to reporters during a hospital visit in Souk El Thenine, Bejaia province. The deaths occurred across the provinces of Jijel, Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou, with five fatalities recorded in Jijel, four in Bejaia and three in Tizi Ouzou. Six of the 54 injured are in critical condition, Sayoud said. (Al Jazeera, Aug. 27, 2026)
According to the official Algeria Press Service, Civil Protection teams recorded 154 fire outbreaks across the country in a single day on Wednesday, including 36 in Bejaia province alone, 18 of which had been brought under control as of Wednesday evening. Operations were still ongoing in Bejaia, where 18 hotspots remained active, and in Jijel, where fires were burning across 12 municipalities. Firefighters managed to contain blazes in Skikda, El Tarf, Bouira, Tizi Ouzou and Tebessa. (Al Jazeera, Aug. 27, 2026)
The fires erupted as a severe heatwave swept across Algeria and neighbouring Tunisia, fuelling what Sayoud described as an exceptional number of simultaneous fire events. Images broadcast by regional news website Jijel News showed residents seeking refuge in a post office amid thick smoke as wildfires threatened communities along the Mediterranean coastline. Dozens of families were evacuated from the hardest-hit areas. (Al Jazeera, Aug. 27, 2026)
Algeria frequently endures deadly seasonal wildfires during peak summer months. At least six people were killed in wildfires in the country just last month alone. In recent years, intensifying heatwaves and fierce winds — disasters exacerbated by drought and climate change — have amplified fire risks across the country's forested Mediterranean coastline. Scientists have linked the increasing frequency and intensity of such blazes to longer, hotter summers driven by global warming. (Al Jazeera, Aug. 27, 2026)
The Algeria wildfires come as Spain and several other Mediterranean countries have also battled major fire outbreaks in recent weeks, underscoring the growing threat of wildfire season across the region. The European Commission's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said on Tuesday that wildfire emissions in southern Europe this summer had reached their highest levels in at least two decades. (Al Jazeera, Aug. 27, 2026)
**Sources:** aljazeera.com
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