A massive fire broke out in the outskirts of the town of Butma in the Chouf, and spread over large forest areas, causing major damage to pine trees and olive groves, while the fire approached residential areas and inhabited homes.
The speed of the wind contributed to the expansion of the fire, which started in the valley before extending upward toward the hills located on the border with the towns of Al-Maaser and Al-Barouk, which made it difficult to control it and raised fears that it would reach additional forest areas.
Firefighting aircraft intervened alongside civil defense teams and residents in an attempt to contain and extinguish the fire, amid continuing efforts to limit its expansion and protect homes and nearby agricultural areas.
The fire resulted in significant losses to crops and forest areas, especially pine and olive trees, which were affected by the fire.
This afternoon, the fire was renewed in a number of points, which required a new alert for the concerned teams, who are working to contain the flames and prevent them from reaching the rest of the forests and densely populated forests, in order to avoid expanding the extent of the damage.
The area extending between Butma, Al-Maaser, and Al-Barouk is one of the areas rich in forests and green spaces, which makes any large fire there a source of direct danger to the forest cover, crops, and nearby residential areas.
Fire risks increase during the summer with rising temperatures, drying of grasses, and gusts of wind, which are factors that contribute to the rapid spread of fires and make controlling them more difficult, especially in mountainous and densely forested areas.
