Massive fire ‘almost under control’ in north Lebanon

A massive fire broke out in the Qobayat area north of Lebanon on Wednesday. (Lebanon’s National News Agency)

• Lebanese Red Cross reports 8 hospitalized and 17 evicted due to blaze
• More than 16 firefighting brigades from Tripoli and Beirut respond as Aoun has Cypriot authorities on standby

BEIRUT: A massive fire broke out in the Qobayat area north of Lebanon on Wednesday and spread so fast that many families were stuck in their properties.
A spokesperson for the Lebanese Civil Defence (LCD) told Arab News the blaze was a result of high temperatures, humidity, and winds but was “almost under control” after more than 16 firefighting brigades responded to the fire.
“Fire brigades from Tripoli and Beirut have been extinguishing the enormous flames that we face every summer season,” the LCD spokesperson said. “The head of LCD operations is supervising the fire-extinguishing process.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) told Arab News it also dispatched teams to the Qobayat area when the fire broke out.
“We evicted families including women, children, and the elderly as our teams remain on the ground,” the LRC spokesperson said.
According to the LRC Twitter account, 17 people were evicted, 25 were treated at the site and eight were hospitalized as a result of the fire.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun ordered the Lebanese Army and LCD to exert all efforts to extinguish the fire and prevent it from reaching homes and properties. He also gave orders to evict any families that could be in the path of the fire.
Aoun asked local authorities to communicate with Cypriot authorities for assistance if the fire escalated. 
The National News Agency (NNA) said the Lebanese Army rescued a number of citizens from their cars after they were surrounded by fires that broke out near the Qobayat-Rowaymah Highway.
One of Qobayat mayors, Youssef Nader, told Al-Jadeed TV that 60 percent of the fire that surrounded residential areas had been brought under control, but blazes in the nearby fields “remain out of control.”
One wounded person was transferred to the Al-Salam Hospital Emergency Department in Qobayat.
Lebanese Army helicopters, civil defense teams, and volunteers from Qobayat and other areas in Akkar continued to battle the blaze on Wednesday, which expanded towards new areas in Mount Akroum, the NNA reported.