ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Younis Faidhi and Mansour Azar have joined hundreds of other volunteers to extinguish wildfires raging in Salas-e Babajani, a predominantly-Kurdish area in western Iran (Rojhelat).
Kermanshah Province's Crisis Coordination Center announced that a wildfire which was mostly put out on Saturday evening has destroyed 250 hectares (2.5 square-kilometers) of forests, amounting to 10 percent of the entire mountain's trees.
Faidhi and Azar have traveled 600 kilometers from Piranshar to Salas-e Babajani mountain to battle the blazes. However, distance is not the only challenge they face; Faidhi is missing both legs because of amputation and Azar makes do with a single leg. They hope more people will join them in extinguishing wildfires to protect the forests of Iran's western Kurdish areas.
"Mr. Younis does not have legs and Mr. Mansour does not have a leg," Masoud Mahmood, an environmentalist, told Rudaw on Saturday. “Mr. Mansour has a prosthetic leg. They have come despite all of their difficulties. We are very grateful to them. We hope everyone is concerned about this beautiful environment, like Mr. Younis and Mr. Mansour are.”
Faidhi and Azar are friends who say they learned about the burning forests on TV and social media.
"As a volunteer, I came to put out the flames," Faidhi said, adding he was influenced by reports of a snake burning in the fire and a turtle whose shell was ablaze.
Saving the forests is worth the risk, they said.
Azar shared: "When I saw the fire, my conscience pushed me to come, vowing to do my best within my limited resources to help save and serve the environment and this country. I am very sad to see the forest has caught fire to this extent.”
He called for more manpower to "join them to put the blaze completely out."
Forest fires in the Kurdish mountains of Iran during the summertime have become more regular in the last decade, sparking concerns for the environment and its ecosystems amid claims of arson and claims of government inactivity.
About 200 hectares (2 square-kilometers) of forests went up in flames early last month near Asrawa, Rashade, Gumaralang, Sheikha Kwera, and Piranakon in Marivan. More than 50 fires have been reported in Marivan alone since March.
