A wildfire burning for nearly a month inside the locally described “lungs of Iran” is threatening a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which critics attribute to poor government management.

The Hyrcanian Forests which stretch along the southern Caspian Sea coast have “outstanding universal value” and are home to more than 3,200 plant species, 180 species of birds, and 58 mammal species, according to UNESCO. The forest dates back to 25 to 50 million years.

A wildfire that broke out in the forest on Nov. 1 reignited on Nov. 15 and has since grown in intensity after a severe drought in the region, according to Iraq-based Shafaq News and Reuters. The nation’s government has deployed two Ilyushin firefighting aircraft, seven helicopters, and around 400 firefighters. Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah recently announced the government made the rare request of asking nearby countries for help, including Turkey and Russia.

“Due to the lack of fire containment and to prevent the fire from spreading to the surrounding forests, coordination has been made to quickly request assistance from friendly countries,” the vice president said in a social media post.

The vice president also described the wildfire as a “grass fire” rather than a forest fire, which caused pushback online and led to accusations that government officials didn’t understand how to handle the wildfire.

The criticism was amplified by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an Iranian dissident political organization that advocates for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the establishment of a democratic government.

The organization referenced the wildfire’s handling, a lack of wildfire resources preparation, and missing forest budget expenses as repeated examples of the government’s negligence. It also warned that local environmental groups have estimated that as many as 90% of wildfires are set deliberately for land grabs and illegal construction projects.

The Council quoted the head of Iran’s Forests Organization on its website: “Reza Aflatouni, head of Iran’s Forests Organization, told state media that initial findings in the Elit case ‘strongly suggest a human cause‘ and that investigators are examining ‘possible connections between the fire and efforts to rezone forest and farmland for private construction’.”

The Council concluded: “Fire, in this context, becomes not just a tragedy but a convenient eraser.”

Nearby, the forested Chalus area in northern Iran has witnessed wildfires over the past few days, while the authorities are trying to extinguish the fire using different methods, including this Ilyushin firefighting aircraft.