Algerian civil protection authorities said Wednesday that they had evacuated several families in the country's northeastern province of Jijel as wildfires there threatened residential areas. Videos circulating on social media showed panicked residents sheltering inside a building as thick smoke filled the air. The civil protection said there were 37 active blazes nationwide, five of which were in Jijel. The rescue body did not say how many people had been evacuated or displaced because of the fires. Algeria has grappled with wildfires over the summer, with at least six people killed in several provinces last month, according to the authorities. Every summer, northern Algeria is hit by forest fires, a phenomenon exacerbated by drought and climate change. Dozens of people have been killed in recent years, and thousands of hectares of forest and farmland destroyed, along with numerous homes.
