DAMASCUS - Syrian authorities said some 100 sq km of forest had “turned to ash” in wildfires as firefighters from neighbouring Jordan arrived on July 6 to battle a fourth day of blazes in the province of Latakia.

Syrian emergency workers have faced tough conditions including high temperatures, strong winds, rugged mountainous terrain in the coastal province and the danger of explosive war remnants, in a country worn down by years of conflict and economic crisis.

An AFP correspondent in Latakia’s Rabiaa region saw emergency workers battling a blaze near homes, while vast swathes of forest and olive groves were burnt and smoke filled the air over a long distance.

Jordanian civil defence teams crossed into Syria on the morning of July 6, the Syrian ministry for emergencies and disaster management said, after Turkey sent assistance a day earlier.

Minister Raed al-Saleh said on X that “hundreds of thousands of forest trees over an estimated area of around 10,000 hectares in 28 locations have turned to ash”.

He later decried “a real environmental disaster” at a press conference in the province.

More than 80 teams including civil defence personnel have been helping battle the blaze, he said, noting local organisations and residents were also providing assistance, in addition to teams and firefighting aircraft from neighbouring Jordan and Turkey.

Mr Saleh said it would take days to declare the blazes completely extinguished once the fire was brought under control, calling them “catastrophic”.

Syria’s defence ministry said the air force was assisting, publishing images of a helicopter collecting and dropping water.

Jordan’s public security directorate said in a statement that the “specialised firefighting teams from the civil defence... have been provided with all the modern equipment and machinery necessary to carry out their duties to the fullest extent”.

Swathes of ...