Dozens of fires have devoured large swathes of land in several Lebanese and Syrian regions, and the outbreak coincided with high temperatures and strong winds, according to the official media in both countries, leaving at least three dead.
Local media and social media activists posted horrific photos and videos of the fire that destroyed large areas of trees in both countries and surrounded civilians in their homes south of Beirut.
Some 103 fires have broken out in several Lebanese regions, the official NNA news agency quoted Civil Defense Director General Raymond Khattar as saying.
The fires, which civil defense teams were unable to extinguish throughout the night, were concentrated mainly in the Chouf area and in Al-Khroub province, south of Beirut.
At least one civilian was killed in the Shouf area while volunteering to help fire brigades put out a fire, his family said.
In the Mushrif area south of Beirut, firefighting teams and relevant agencies were unable to put out a two-day fire.
Four houses were burned and completely burned. Residents evacuated their homes "due to severe suffocation," according to the agency, and covered smoke clouds from fires covered the entrances of Beirut, Chouf and Sidon south, and the Lebanese authorities seemed unable to control the fires in light of limited possibilities, and contacted a number of neighboring countries to help them.
"Greece has responded to our request and will send two planes to help," Lebanese Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan said after a disaster management committee meeting on Tuesday.
"Two planes belonging to the forest fire directorate flew to Lebanon in response to an urgent request for assistance in fighting forest fires," the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a tweet on Twitter.
In Syria, dozens of fires have erupted since Monday in the governorates of Tartous, Lattakia (west) and Homs (center), according to the Syrian news agency "SANA", has been controlled most of them.
The agency quoted the governor of Latakia Ibrahim Khader al-Salem, as saying that "strong winds and the failure to put out fires in a timely manner, in addition to the rugged terrain and the difficulty of access to the fire areas helped to spread."
It published pictures of high clouds of thick smoke covering large areas of Tartous countryside, where the land appeared to be covered with black after the fire was extinguished.
In the province of Tartous, more than a hundred fires have occurred since yesterday, SANA quoted Governor Safwan Abu Saadi, who pointed to the control of most of the fires. He pointed out that it coincides with the olive harvest season.
In Homs, Governor Talal al-Barazi said that the damage was "limited to the material, especially the trees in some forested areas and the electricity networks that pass through this mountainous area".