Tehran - BORNA - Hossein Sajedinia, head of Iran’s National Disaster Management Organization, said on Sunday that the wildfires that had ravaged areas near the city of Marzanabad in Mazandaran province were now contained.

“The extensive fires in Elit forest have been brought under control, while ground teams are currently extinguishing remaining leaf fires and smoldering tree stumps,” Sajedinia said, noting that clean-up operations may take two to three days.

He said firefighters from Mazandaran, Tehran, and Alborz provinces, along with military and police units, had contributed to efforts to contain the large-scale blaze in Elit forest. The surrounding area was now in a stable condition, he added.

The announcement came shortly after local media reported that Turkey had dispatched two AT8T aircraft and an H-60 helicopter to assist with firefighting operations in northern Iran.

Iran’s Environment Protection Organization said in a statement that the Turkish aerial firefighting squadron had landed at Ardabil airport, in northwest Iran, for refueling around noon on Sunday before heading to the affected regions. The aircraft are capable of drawing more than 3,000 liters of water from nearby lakes or the Caspian Sea during each firefighting cycle, the statement added.

A first wave of wildfires was contained in the Elit forests in early November, but a second blaze erupted on Saturday, destroying more than eight hectares of woodland, according to initial estimates.

Authorities have blamed the sudden outbreak of the fires on a lack of rainfall and the accumulation of dry leaves on the forest floor.

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