Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Civil Defense teams have been successful in totally controlling the Al-Souda fire, which broke out at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Lt. Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said that there were no casualties reported in the incident that occurred in the southern Asir region.

The fire has been put out but cooling operations are still continuing, the spokesman said while pointing out that the scenes of fire that are circulating on social media about the Al-Souda fire are inaccurate.

The General Directorate of Civil Defense in Asir had confirmed earlier that fire had broken out in weeds and grasses in a mountainous area, and the Civil Defense teams were able to put out the fire in some sites after opening roads for accessing the rugged terrain before battling the blaze.

Al-Souda is a major tourist destination, located about 28 km from the city of Abha in the Asir region. Jabal Souda, situated 2800 meters above sea level, is one of the highest peaks and the most vegetated areas in the Kingdom. Jabal Souda’s weather temperature is the coolest in the Kingdom.

It is noteworthy that three Ethiopian infiltrators were arrested in connection with the massive fire that broke out last week on Jabal Ghulamah or Ghulamah Mountain in the Tanuma governorate in the Asir region. The security spokesman at the Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday that the infiltrators set fire to the area following disputes between them, and they fled the site after the outbreak of the fire.

The mountain blaze resulted in the burning of large numbers of wild plants on a vast region spread over an area of more than 4.7 million square meters. The fire swept through Ghulamah Mountain on Oct. 21, which is situated between Tanuma and Namas governorates. The Civil Defense Forces continued on Thursday their efforts to extinguish the blaze in a rugged area of the mountain.