ALGIERS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A persistent heatwave sweeping across large parts of Algeria has fueled dozens of vegetation fires, with firefighting crews responding to 127 blazes over the past 24 hours, the country's Civil Protection Department said Saturday.
Sixty-three agricultural fires have been fully extinguished, one was brought under control and placed under monitoring, while another remained active in the eastern province of Setif, the department said in a statement.
All other fires across several northern and southern provinces have been completely extinguished, it said.
The department attributed the outbreak to high temperatures and dry conditions increasing the risk of wildfires and accelerating their spread. ■