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Kirkuk records third wheat field fire in one week

Shafaq News 2026/06/01 02:10

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

A fire that broke out in Al-Hawija district in Kirkukprovince, north-central Iraq, destroyed 22 dunams (2.2 hectares) of wheatfields on Sunday before civil defense teams managed to contain the blaze andprevent it from spreading to nearby farmland.

No injuries were reported, with damage limited to materiallosses affecting the wheat crop, a source told Shafaq News. Authorities havelaunched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire and assess thefull extent of the damage.

Farmland fires frequently break out across southern Kirkukduring the harvest season, often causing significant crop losses. Earlier thisweek, a blaze destroyed nearly 50 dunams of wheat fields in the province, whileanother fire damaged around 10 dunams of crops in Al-Hawija on May 30.

Kirkuk Agriculture Directorate projected wheat production toreach around 600,000 tons this season, reinforcing the province’s position asone of Iraq’s main grain-producing areas. The Head of the Directorate, ZuhairAli Hussein, told our agency in late April 2026 that average yields had reachedaround 1,250 kilograms per dunam, citing improved farming methods, technicalsupport, and relatively favorable weather conditions.

(10 dunams = 1 hectare)

: Iraq’s wheat fields no longer guarantee bread

Read full story at source (Shafaq News)