Since Wednesday night, at least 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of forest have burned in Larache and Ouezzane, according to initial reports, leaving burnt trees smouldering under a sky blanketed by plumes of smoke.
INTENSE DROUGHTS, SOARING TEMPERATURES
The North African nation, which is struggling under intense droughts, has in recent days been hit by soaring temperatures approaching 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
"It is the heat that causes this kind of fire. It was yesterday at dawn that the fire reached our village," Ahmed Mezouar, 58, a resident of Larache, told AFP, adding that he was hopeful that firefighters would be able to contain it.
Still, he worried, as a neighbouring village had been completely surrounded by the flames.
"We are afraid for our houses," he said. "For the moment, we are safe."
Across the Strait of Gibraltar, wildfires are also raging in southern Europe, from Portugal and Spain through to France and Greece.
Scientists say extreme weather events such as heatwaves and droughts, which make wildfires more likely, are linked to climate change.
They are expected to become even more frequent, more prolonged and more intense in the future.
