WANA (Nov 23) – The commander of the Natural Resources Protection Unit in Mazandaran–Nowshahr has announced that the wildfire in the Elite forests is now 80% contained, following significant improvement in weather conditions and the dissipation of smoke.

 

Mohsen Moradi-Sadegh, the unit commander, provided an update on the situation, noting that conditions have improved compared to the previous day.

 

“Fortunately, no smoke is visible in the area anymore,” he said. According to Moradi-Sadegh, the remaining active flames are confined to lower elevations, while most of the fire has been brought under control.

 

He added that operational teams have been rapidly deployed to the lower areas to extinguish the remaining hotspots. Some teams previously stationed in the highlands have also been redirected to reinforce the effort.

 

“The situation is under control, and operations will continue until the fire is fully extinguished,” he emphasized.

 

This morning, Brigadier General Hossein Sajedi-Nia, Director-General of Iran’s National Crisis Management Organization, also stated that several countries had expressed readiness to assist in controlling the Elite forest wildfire in Marzanabad. However, no foreign teams have arrived so far, and domestic resources have been sufficient to manage the incident.

 

On November 21, Shina Ansari, Vice President and head of Iran’s Department of Environment, announced ongoing international coordination efforts to help extinguish the Chalus forest fires, saying that two airplanes and one helicopter from Turkey were expected to arrive in Elite.

 

Hossein-Ali Mohammadi, Director-General of Crisis Management in Mazandaran Province, stated that the suppression efforts currently involve 40 ground operation teams, supported by eight helicopters and two Ilyushin aircraft providing aerial assistance.

Elite Forest Fire Now 80% Contained. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Elite Forest Fire Now 80% Contained. Social media/ WANA News Agency