Many hours after the start of the devastating, rapidly spreading fires across Lebanon, which have engulfed and damaged forests, houses, and infrastructure, a glimpse of hope in the form of dark, gray clouds gave the Lebanese citizens something to cling to after struggling terribly to control the destructive fires.
Between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m today Tuesday, rain began pouring down on several areas across Lebanon, many of which had been affected by the fires, like Meshref and Damour.
Although the rain didn’t completely extinguish the fires, it certainly helped immensely in putting a stop to the raging flames, which have been almost completely extinguished in the Meshref area, according to the National News Agency.
The NNA has also reported that UN firefighters and fire trucks have been withdrawn from Meshref and moved to regions where fires are still being put out by civil defense and multiple other collaborators and volunteers.
Lebanese woke up to the traumatizing news this morning of terrible fires swamping Lebanese forests as temperatures soared to reach 37.8 °C (100.04°F), which broke the record for the highest temperature in October.
The first fire began on Monday at 3:00 a.m and spread uncontrollably, causing many residences to burn down.
According to George Abu Mousa, the manager of operations in the Civil Defense, the cumulative number of fires across Lebanon has reached 140, with 20 of them still ablaze.
The Civil Defense stated that the difficulty in dealing with the fires is due to the wind working against them and resulting in more rapidly-spreading flames.
The Civil Defense also announced that most of the fires have been put under control and some are nearly extinguished. The fixed-wing aircraft sent by Cyprus to assist Lebanon in conquering the fires helped accelerate the process.
The aircraft paused its mission as the daylight faded this evening because of its inability to work at night.
It is supposed to resume its job tomorrow along with the collaborating parties working on putting this dramatic situation under control.
Heartfelt gratitude to our heroes on the ground, fighting the raging wildfires to save Lebanon. Greetings to you, heroes of the Civil Defense, the Lebanese Army, the security forces, and all volunteers for all your efforts.
Support our independent media! Become a Patron!