ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A fire broke out on Sulaimani’s Azmar mountain, spreading through dry vegetation as civil defense teams worked to bring it under control, with strong winds hampering firefighting efforts.

Sulaimani’s civil defense teams, in cooperation with forest police and local residents, were working to contain the fire, civil defense said.

Aram Ali, spokesperson for Sulaimani’s civil defense, told The New Region that the fire initially broke out within the boundaries of the villages of Qularash and Khamza before spreading across a large area of Mount Azmar due to strong winds.

He said the extent of the burned area and any losses were not yet known. Ten civil defense teams were at the scene working to extinguish the fire and had come close to bringing it under control, but strong winds were making their task more difficult.

Fires on Azmar and nearby Goizha Mountain are common and have increased in frequency over the years. The mountains overlook Sulaimani city and are popular destinations for views of the city, picnics, and sunset watching.

In mid-July, a large fire also broke out atop Goizha Mountain.

The Kurdistan Region experiences hot and dry summers, making vegetation fires easier to ignite and allowing them to spread quickly.