Continued Fire in 90 Hectares of Noor Forests in Mazandaran

The fire in approximately 90 hectares of forests in Noor County, Mazandaran Province, which began last Thursday, continues to rage. Over the past week, the fire has reignited after temporary extinguishment. As a result of the fires last Thursday and Friday, about 20 hectares of these forests have been completely burned. Fakhruddin Maqsoudi, commander of the Natural Resources Protection Unit in Noor County, reported on Friday evening, December 6, that the fire had been 'contained.' However, according to Iranian news agencies, including IRNA, the fire has flared up again since Saturday. Meanwhile, Fars News Agency reported on Wednesday that over the past week, the fire has 'sometimes' been extinguished but has reignited. Ishaq Mohseni, commander of the Natural Resources Protection Unit in Mazandaran, also announced that the fire flared up again on the morning of Wednesday, December 11. Mr. Mohseni stated that the extent of the fire is about 90 hectares and that two water-dropping helicopters will be dispatched on Thursday to extinguish it. Behzad Angouraj, deputy of the Iranian Forests Organization, mentioned last Friday that one helicopter was sent to the area to extinguish the fire, but 'due to the rocky and difficult terrain, it was not possible to extinguish the fire by helicopter.' Angouraj's statement comes as Fars News Agency quoted Mostafa Alavi, a member of the Islamic Council of the village of 'Fooladkala,' stating that the helicopter, after landing in the area of the earthen dam of 'Fooladkala,' was unable to perform water collection and firefighting operations due to 'technical failure.' Previously, Khodakaram Jalali, head of the Forests and Pastures Organization of Iran, had promised that 'if funding is secured,' ten helicopters would be purchased for deployment in the northern forests of Iran. In the past two years, some northern Iranian forests, including over 500 hectares of Golestan National Park, have been burned. Meanwhile, Mansour Memshali, head of the Natural Resources Department in Galikesh, East Golestan Province, reported that a fire in six thousand meters of forests in this area was extinguished on Tuesday evening. According to Mr. Memshali, this year, in 40 cases of fire, over 17 hectares of forests in Galikesh County have been damaged. According to the Forests and Pastures Organization report, only in the first five months of this year, about 7,000 hectares of forests and 'wooded pastures' have been lost due to fires.