Fire extinguishing equipment will soon be dispatched to the Iraqi part of Hour-al Azim Marshes to put out the wildfire still burning the reeds, a senior official at the Department of Environment said.
It has been more than a week since the fire hit the marshes straddling western borders with Iraq, first burning the Iranian side but further spreading westward into Iraqi soil.
However, according to Ahmadreza Lahijanzadeh, head of Khuzestan's office of the Department of Environment, the blaze was extinguished in the Iranian part of the wetland and special equipment borrowed from a European country together with Iranian helitanks will soon be sent to the troubled area in Iraqi lands, Mehr News Agency reported.
"Negotiations on sending fire extinguishing equipment to Iraq have been underway with the country's authorities until lately. After the agreement was reached a couple of days ago, we are allowed to send helicopters to the burning spots of the wetland," Lahijanzadeh said.
Reportedly, the only way to approach the area on fire is to send the extinguishing equipment into the wetland to encircle the flames both from the sides and from above using helicopters. Officials say the operations will start as soon as possible.
Not So Far-Fetched
Lahijanzadeh added that the large-scale calamity was predicted years ago, but Iraq seemingly was not fully prepared to tackle it.
"Unfortunately, a big part of the wetland's surrounding area near Iraq's borders contains uncleared landmines, making it almost inaccessible," the official added.
To make things worse, there are technical constraints limiting choppers' flight around the conflagration, since the helicopter cannot go closer than 50 km to the flames. Therefore, the fire should be put out from numerous directions.
Nearby Cities Afflicted
The fire has natural consequences that create an intolerable situation when combined with freshwater problems and rampant diseases already spread through the area.
Nazem Sabouti, governor of Hoveyzeh, drew attention to the poor air quality in the cities of Rafi', Hamidieh, Ahvaz, Shadegan and Hoveyzeh in the proximity of the wetland thanks to the thick smoke enveloping the sky in the area.
"Besides the fire, drought, lack of precipitation, shrinking livestock grazing areas, wild animals' intrusion into local houses to find relief from the heat, poor water quality, huge agricultural losses and impossibility of farming seasonal crops are among the major challenges facing Khuzestan these days."
He also said that livestock fatalities due to the lack of food and water and failure in operating fish farming pools are the other problems plaguing the area.
People are being poisoned by contaminated water lately. Shokrollah Salmanzadeh, head of Khuzestan's health center, said over 15 cases of dysentery have been reported so far.
"Preliminary investigations show that wastewater leaking into freshwater system has given rise to the outbreak of the disease," the official said. Assuring that a majority of people diagnosed with the disease have been quickly treated with medicine, Salmanzadeh said that hepatitis B is yet to be controlled in the region.
