One death, an elderly man trapped inside his burning home in the village of Eissaweya, was blamed on the fires. Twenty-two people, including some forest rangers and four firemen, were treated for smoke inhalation or minor burns, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency. No further information was immediately available on the man who died.
Police said fires that broke out Tuesday and were affecting a 40-square-kilometer (15-square-mile) area had been brought partly under control by Wednesday morning. More than 60 fire engines and numerous volunteers from nearby villages were out fighting the fire.
Firefighting planes and vehicles from Turkey were helping to fight the blazes, which affected nine villages, SANA reported.
The agency quoted Environment Minister Hilal al-Atrash, who is supervising firefighting operations, as blaming the fires on drought and unseasonably warm weather.
The Eissaweya fire was extinguished with Turkish assistance, but a large blaze was still raging at Ras al-Basit, along the Mediterranean near a border crossing with Turkey.
Ras al-Basit and the other affected villages are in the Latakia area, but the port city itself was not threatened. Latakia is 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of Damascus, the capital.
