Large wildfire rages on Awgird Mountain, threatening forests, orchards

KOYA — A large wildfire erupted on Awgird Mountain near the village of Smaqoli Grtk in Koya district, Erbil governorate, burning through forests and orchards, local officials reported. The fire, which ignited on Friday evening, spread rapidly overnight, consuming vast areas of trees and vegetation as it advanced toward the Sanawa Valley in the Sektan district. Local authorities have urgently called for aerial firefighting support to help contain the blaze.

“Yesterday evening, a large fire broke out on Awgrd Mountain, and the flames spread quickly, destroying everything in their path — forests, orchards, and vegetation,” said Hemen Haji Mustafa, the village chief of Smaqoli, told 964media on Sunday morning. “Now, the fire is moving towards the Sanawa Valley in the Sektan district.”

In an urgent plea for assistance, the Smaqoli Grtk village council requested helicopter support through 964media. Goran Ahmed, head of Koya Civil Defence, stressed, “The fire has not yet been contained, and helicopters are essential to extinguish it.” He further noted, “The fire has burned thousands of dunams of orchards, forests, and vegetation, mostly consisting of dry, thorny trees.”

The challenging terrain has hampered local civil defense teams in their efforts to control the blaze. “The mountain is high, and reaching the top takes three to four hours, exhausting both energy and resources,” Ahmed explained. “Additionally, the area is littered with mines, posing a significant danger.”

Awgrd Mountain descends into the Smaqoli Valley, and the flames are now extending toward the village’s borders in Koya district, raising fears of further damage if the fire is not brought under control swiftly.

On August 24, a fire that broke out on Mount Safeen within the Shaqlawa district of Erbil province was extinguished by the next day after consuming approximately 18.5 acres of forest. Wildfires are a recurrent issue in many rural areas of Kurdistan during the summer, often ignited by unattended fires amid high temperatures and dry conditions.

This incident follows several significant wildfires in the region, including a large fire on Mount Zozik in the Soran Autonomous Administration, Erbil, on August 22, which took nine hours to control and scorched an estimated 37 to 49 acres of forestland.

Another major fire erupted on Goizha Mountain in Sulaymaniyah on July 29, burning approximately 49 acres of grassland and forest, according to initial assessments.