Iran: Wild Fires - Nov 2025
Disaster description
In early November 2025, a major wildfire emergency broke out in Iran’s northern Hyrcanian forest region, a UNESCO World Heritage–listed temperate rainforest belt along the Caspian coast. The fire ignited near the Elit (Elite) forest area between Chalus and Marzanabad in Mazandaran Province and spread rapidly across steep, densely wooded terrain driven by severe drought, extremely dry leaf litter, and seasonal winds. [...], with at least 10–15 hectares of forest reportedly burned in the Elit sector alone and concerns that larger patches of the surrounding Hyrcanian belt were also affected. [...] As the situation escalated, Iran formally requested international assistance on 21–22 November, leading to deployment of Turkish firefighting aircraft alongside domestic assets. (IFRC, 9 Dec 2025)