ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A large fire in Sulaimani’s Arbat subdistrict destroyed almost 1,000 trees and 20 dunams of dry grassland on Thursday, with an arrest warrant issued for an individual suspected of starting the blaze.

“A fire broke out in the Dukaniyan valley in the area of Arabat subdistrict, where approximately 20 donums of straw and hay and nearly one thousand 1,000 wild trees were burned,” read a statement by Sulaimani’s Forestry and Environment Police.

According to the statement, a squad from the forest police, in coordination with the Sitak Civil Defense Base, arrived at the scene and were eventually “able to control the fire.”

The forest police claimed that the fire outbreak stemmed from an individual using a magnifying glass, noting that “an arrest warrant for the suspect of the incident has been issued” and that an investigation file into the case has been opened to “take legal action.”

Photo: Sulaimani Forestry and Environment Police

The scorching heat during the warmer months of the year and the drying of the nature and landscape in the Kurdistan Region’s wilderness render the area vulnerable to the ignition and expansion of wildfires.

In August, a fire broke out in Sulaimani’s Penjwen district, injuring two amid attempts to control the blaze. Similarly, another fire in the Mordin area of Halabja led to the death of two, a forest police member and a civilian volunteer, during extinguishing efforts.

At least 3,000 dunams of land were burnt as a result of another August wildfire that raged on for days in Penjwen, with multiple other fires recorded in the Soran Independent Administration’s Sidakan, Balakian, and Bradost mountains.

Forest fires burned around 27,000 dunams of land in the first six months of 2025, according to Fuad Ahmed, head of the Kurdistan Region Forest Police’s media department.