Algerian wildfires kill 12 people and injure 54 as heatwave sweeps northeastern provinces
Wildfires in northeastern Algeria have killed 12 people, including a child, and injured 54 others, prompting the presidency to declare three days of national mourning.
Casualties across northeastern provinces
Wildfires across northeastern Algeria killed 12 people and injured 54 others as high summer temperatures and strong winds swept the region on 26 August. Interior and Transport Minister Saïd Sayoud confirmed the toll late on Wednesday evening, noting that the victims included an eight-year-old child. Casualties were concentrated across three provinces located east of the capital: five people died in Jijel, four in Bejaia, and three in Tizi Ouzou. In the town of Souk El Tenine in Bejaia province, 54 individuals were hospitalized with burn injuries, with six remaining in critical condition in intensive care units. Medical teams conducted initial evaluations in evacuation staging zones before transferring burn victims to specialized regional hospitals.
- Jijel
- 5 deaths
- Bejaia
- 4 deaths
- Tizi Ouzou
- 3 deaths
Rapid fire spread and emergency evacuations
Civil Protection services recorded 154 wildfires across Algeria on Wednesday, driven by an exceptional heatwave across North Africa and sudden shifts in wind direction. The wind changes pushed flames directly toward populated areas, leaving multiple infrastructure sites charred or structurally compromised. In Bejaia province, firefighters responded to 36 distinct fires, bringing 18 under control by Wednesday night while 69 blazes remained active nationwide. In Jijel province, fires spread across more than ten municipalities, prompting coordinated residential evacuations by the Algerian Army and civil protection teams. Hundreds of displaced residents in Jijel and Bejaia sought safety on coastal beaches or unaffected urban zones, while local news outlets documented families sheltering inside a post office enveloped in dense smoke.
- Civil protection records 154 wildfires nationwide during a severe North African heatwave
- Interior Minister confirms 12 dead and 54 injured as 69 fires burn nationwide
- Active blazes decline to 46 out of 193 recorded over a 24-hour window
- President Tebboune declares three days of national mourning and cancels public events
State response and national mourning
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced three days of national mourning on Thursday, 27 August, in memory of the victims. The Algerian presidency suspended all cultural and sporting events across the country following the declaration and characterized the disaster as a great misfortune for the nation.
With a broken heart and a soul in mourning before the tragedy of the loss of fellow citizens.
To maintain public safety and prevent vehicles from entering fire zones, national police closed three key connecting roads across the northeastern provinces. Government agencies deployed firefighting aircraft alongside ground crews to support containment operations in rugged terrain.
Containment efforts and regional climate context
By Thursday, 27 August, emergency crews had reduced the number of active fires to 46 out of a total of 193 outbreaks recorded over a 24-hour window. Operations focused on remaining hotspots in Bejaia and Jijel, situated roughly 300 kilometers east of Algiers. Northeastern Algeria experiences forest fires each summer, but persistent drought conditions and extreme heat across Algeria and neighboring Tunisia expanded the scope of the 2026 blazes. The destruction follows a similar disaster in July 2023, when wildfires in Bejaia province resulted in more than 30 fatalities. Civil protection teams and military units continue monitoring containment lines to prevent re-ignition in vulnerable forest tracts.
