Three days after three nature lovers died in a fire, Paveh forests are still burning

Reports indicate that a fire in the oak forests of Paveh County in Kermanshah Province is still ongoing after six days and the death of three environmental activists.

Fereydoun Yavari, Director General of the Environment Department of Kermanshah Province, said on Tuesday, July 30, that the fires in the "Bozin" and "Markhil" areas are still ongoing after 6 days, and so far, 1,400 hectares of land in this area have been burned.

 According to him, rescue workers and local people are putting out the fire with local resources.

The fire continues to burn in this area, while on Sunday, three environmentalists who went to the scene to put out the fire were injured and died.

According to news published on social media and news agencies, Mokhtar Khandani, Yasin Karimi, and Bilal Amini were three environmental activists who died while extinguishing fires in Buzin and Markhil near Paveh.

Fires in the Zagros forest habitats began in early June this year in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Fars, and Khuzestan provinces and spread to the northern regions. Meanwhile, Alborz Zarei, a mountaineer and environmental activist, also suffered severe burns while trying to put out the fire in the Khaiz protected area and died a few days later.

Two years ago, Sharif Bajaur, a prominent environmental activist in Marivan, died along with three other foresters and activists while trying to contain a fire in the forests surrounding the city.

At that time, a number of Marivan citizens told VOA that the people of that city believed that the fires were intentional and were being set by security forces and the Revolutionary Guard to prevent opponents of the Islamic Republic from hiding.

Recent fires in the Zagros forest habitats have once again raised many criticisms about the lack of sufficient facilities and manpower to extinguish the fires. However, Issa Kalantari, the head of the Environment Organization, downplayed the fires in the Zagros and called the extent of forest destruction caused by the fires insignificant, a comment that was met with criticism from environmental activists and journalists.

Source: Voice of America