A forest fire broke out in Alvar-e Garmsiri District located in Jurvand Village, Khuzestan Province, on August 10, due to a family dispute, which took more than two days to extinguish.
With help from the local community, firefighters dispatched from the cities of Dezful and Shoush, plus two helicopters deployed by the Forests, Range and Watershed management Organization, the fire was extinguished on Friday morning, Mehr News Agency reported.
The culprit set fire to the private farmlands of a relative in the early hours of Wednesday following a dispute over land rights.
“The fire was started by the offender in private farmlands when a family quarrel broke out, but it uncontrollably spread out to surrounding forestlands,” explained Col. Mohammad Azizi, commander of the provincial FRWO office’s protection unit.
“The man who set the farms afire has been arrested,” he said.
The extent of damage was not immediately clear.
In the last Iranian year that ended in March, fires spread through more than 44,800 hectares of forests, irreparably destroying 18,000 hectares.
According to forestry officials, 95% of all wildfires in Iran are manmade, 30% of which are intentional.
Iran’s arid climate and topography, together with human carelessness, have made the country highly prone to wildfires.
To combat intentional fires, legal punishments for culprits have been set in place.
Based on the Islamic Penal Code, offenders will serve between two- and five-year prison terms, while would-be arsonists caught before setting fire will be imprisoned for between six months and two years.
