Syrian Arab Republic: Flash Update - The Wildfires in Lattakia - No.2 (As of 13 July 2025)

HIGHLIGHTS

Wildfires have devastated northern rural Lattakia for nearly two weeks, spreading into Hama and Idleb.
• Over 1,150 people displaced and more than 14,000 affected, with widespread property losses and rising health concerns.
• 15,000 hectares of farmland destroyed, crippling local livelihoods.
• 72 communities impacted—Qastal Maaf and Rabee’a worst hit.
• UN allocates $625,000 through the Syria
Humanitarian Fund for urgent response via SARC.
• Fire now largely under control, but risk of flare-ups remains high.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Since July 2, 2025, fast-moving wildfires have erupted in the mountainous and heavily forested northern countryside of Lattakia Governorate, escalating quickly into a large-scale emergency.
The blazes have severely impacted areas like Qastal Ma‘af, Rabee'a, Zinzaf, Al-Ramadiyah, Beer Al-Qasab, Al-Basit, and Kasab, along with surrounding rural communities.
Fueled by extreme temperatures, strong seasonal winds, and low humidity, the fires have consumed vast expanses of pine forests, agricultural land, and village outskirts. They are primarily concentrated along three major forest axes in the Jabal al-Akrad and Jabal Turkman regions.
Thousands of residents have been forced to flee high-risk areas, leading to significant population displacement and growing humanitarian needs, particularly in terms of shelter, water, essential services and access to livelihoods.
Approximately 70% of livelihoods in the assessed areas rely on agriculture; however, most agricultural systems are currently inoperable. In villages such as Khadra and Joret Maa, repeated wildfires have devastated farmland, leaving it nearly barren and unproductive. As a result, many households have resorted to foraging for wild plants to survive, an alarming indicator of severe food insecurity.