"The fire, which broke out on Saturday at around 2:30 pm in the Sougna forest, is currently 80% under control," Assali told MAP, noting that the intervention teams are working to fully control the fire.

The burnt area is estimated at about 1,100 hectares, 60% of which are secondary species, said the provincial director of Water and Forests and the fight against desertification in Chefchaouen, Rachid El Anzi.

Response operations have contained several fires, he said, adding that "one relatively large fire is still active, while efforts are continuing to bring the fire under control".

Some 520 elements of the Water and Forests, the Civil Protection, the Auxiliary Forces, the Royal Armed Forces and the Royal Gendarmerie, as well as the local authorities, are still mobilized to contain this fire, supported by technical means on the ground, four "Canadair" planes of the Royal Air Forces and four Turbo trush planes of the Royal Gendarmerie.