Turkey, Jordan send firefighters to Syria as wildfires burn for fourth day

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00:00From above, it looks like a volcano erupted here.

00:04This is northwestern Syria, near the town of Kassab,

00:07where wildfires have been tearing through forested hills since early July.

00:11Despite reinforcements from Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Qatar,

00:15as well as the deployments of specialized aircraft,

00:18the fires show no signs of abating.

00:22Our teams are working with full capacity and all available resources

00:25to confront the fire lines and contain them

00:28to prevent the flames from spreading to new, forested areas.

00:32Large areas have been burned, possibly exceeding 15,000 hectares.

00:37All efforts are focused on reducing the affected area

00:40and protecting the remaining green spaces.

00:43The region's steep, mountainous terrain

00:45is making efforts on the ground even more difficult.

00:49We're working under difficult weather conditions and natural challenges,

00:52as the fire is in mountainous areas that are hard to reach

00:56with ground firefighting vehicles.

00:59However, we're carrying out operations using aircrafts

01:02in locations that are inaccessible by land.

01:05The Takias forests burn nearly every summer,

01:08but experts are warning climate change is supercharging the dangers.

01:12Authorities in Syria say the causes may be even more complex.

01:15The Syrian Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management

01:19is blaming the soaring heat and dry winds,

01:22as well as the presence of unexploded bombs and landmines,

01:26remnants of years of war.

01:28Syria's UN humanitarian coordinator has announced $625,000

01:32in emergency funding to support affected communities.

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