TEHRAN — Iranian authorities have imposed a temporary ban on public access to most forested areas, a local media outlet reported Wednesday, as the country struggled to extinguish a fire in a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site. The fire in northern Iran’s Hyrcanian forests, which started on November 1, was brought under control in a few days. However, it reignited on November 15, fuelled by strong winds and an unusually severe drought, according to Iranian media. “We have notified the provinces to ban entry into forest areas outside protected zones and parks before the autumn rains occur in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring,” Majid Zakariaei, commander of the unit responsible for forest protection, told the Mehr news agency. Iran has requested foreign assistance to combat the fire ravaging the Hyrcanian forests which stretch 1,000 kilometres along the shores of the Caspian Sea and the northern slopes of the Alborz mountains into Azerbaijan. The ancient forests are home to the endangered Persian leopard as well as brown bears and other large predators and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. The fire comes with the country facing one of its most severe droughts since records began six decades ago. The blaze was largely contained by Tuesday, but operations are continuing to fully extinguish it, Iranian media reported. An official from the northern province of Golestan told state TV that “thanks to the efforts made, we can now declare the end of the fires,” in the cities of the province. However, Alireza Rahaei, an environmental official in the neighbouring province of Semnan which also hosts parts of the Hyrcanian forests told the state news agency IRNA that fire had spread to the province.