Syria’s Latakia Governorate is currently battling severe wildfires that have consumed vast areas across multiple rural communities. Fueled by extreme heat, dry easterly winds, and the inaccessibility of mountainous terrain, these fires are overwhelming local response capacities and threatening both people and the environment.

In response, HAND has joined a joint operations room in collaboration with the Syrian Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, Civil Defense Units, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and local humanitarian organizations. This coordination mechanism ensures unified planning, effective role allocation, and streamlined logistics to support firefighting efforts and humanitarian relief.

HAND’s emergency teams are actively providing logistical support to firefighting personnel, securing access to water supply points, liaising with communities for safety and evacuation, and conducting rapid environmental and humanitarian impact assessments.

Beyond the immediate response, HAND is committed to strengthening local preparedness through early warning systems, fire response training, improved water infrastructure, and locally tailored contingency planning.

These fires are more than a seasonal emergency—they are a call for structural change. HAND urges international partners to invest in sustainable, climate-smart solutions and reaffirms its commitment to principled, forward-looking humanitarian action that builds resilience and empowers communities.