By Patrick Galey
Daily Star staff
Friday, June 26, 2009

BEIRUT: Forest fires raged throughout Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday,
with Civil Defense Units deployed to tackle 185 fires across the
country. Every year, laws come into effect between June and November,
aimed at reducing the number of fires started by farmers, campers and
other members of the public. The blazes of the past 24 hours show that
many of these laws are being ignored. It is illegal for anyone to start
a fire in wooded areas during the summer months.

Fadi Bouali, of the Association of Forest Development and Conservation
(AFDC), said that Lebanon was entering into its most dangerous period
bush and forest fires.

"Lebanon is not well prepared during the summer but we are trying to
raise awareness among the people. I'm concerned because this year we saw
rain continuing into the spring, which means there is now additional
vegetation to burn.

He said that the country's defense forces were not sufficiently equipped
to deal with the dry summer.

"[Civil Defense] Units suffer from a lack of personnel and sometimes
they are not able to have enough human resources in order to fight a
fire. Every [fire-fighting vehicle] requires six or seven men to be
operational, and that is not always possible."

Nada Amayra, president of Green Line, an environmental NGO based in
Beirut, said it was vital that the the Civil Defense forces were reinforced.

"The Civil Defense units are volunteer based. As a result, their
efficiency is down to the time availability of members. However, these
volunteers have been receiving a lot of training and more equipment.

"Another problem that exists is that some parts of the forest are not
easily reachable," she said.

Lebanon recently brought three Sikorsky helicopters, each capable of
dropping 4000 liters of water, funded from the private sector and
"Lebanese donors," to help combat forest fires ahead of the arid summer
months. While two helicopters were already delivered on June 3 and June
17, a third is yet to arrive.

Talal El Makdessi, of Akhdar Dyem, the NGO set up to manage the
helicopter acquisitions, said he expected the remaining helicopter
"within a week."

"The helicopters are operational but it depends on the type of fire as
to [whether] they are required," he said. "Lebanese pilots are being
trained to use these helicopters but the trainers are under contract to
fly them. If Air Force pilots are ready then they will fly them."

The one helicopter that is currently operational was not deployed
yesterday. Makdessi said that the most recent fires were "not serious,"
adding: "If a helicopter was used for [these fires], they would have
flooded the area. People should feel safe. Helicopters are not always
needed for fighting fires and it is the Civil Defense that has to take
the initiative [to use them]."

In addition to the three helicopters - which are thought to have cost a
total of $13.5 million - Lebanon is in the process of buying 50
four-wheel drive pick-up vehicles, each capable of carrying 1,000 liters
of water. Defense forces expect to have received the all-terrain
vehicles within "a couple of months."

"The helicopters are not the only solution," said Amayra. "They are not
the only way to control the fires. Volunteers are needed in the field to
control the fires and make sure they are being fought on the ground, not
just in the air."

On Thursday, the Army Command-General Directorate issued a statement on
the fires saying: "Yesterday, units of the Army deployed in the region,
in conjunction with members of Civil Defense, worked on extinguishing
fires that broke out in the vicinities of: Harouf, Doueir, Al-Charkieh,
Syr al-Gharbieh, Tebnin, Mais al-Jabal, Aita al-Jabal, Aitite,
Al-Chhabiah, Mar Elias, Nabatieh, Ain Hala, Dhour Al-Abadieh, Hamanna,
Al-Saidyat, Sirjbal, and Machghara.

"The devastated areas were estimated by 121 Dounams of fruitful trees
and dry grass," the statement added.

The latest blazes came after Civil Defense fire-fighters struggled to
contain forest fires in Kfar Hatta, in the northern region of Zghorta
over the weekend. Large orchards of olive trees were destroyed before
teams could get the fires under control.

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