The wildfires are burning in mountainous areas east of Algeria, and the victims were from the provinces of Al Taref, and Setif.
At least 200 more people have suffered burns or respiratory problems from the smoke, according to various Algerian media.
A journalist in El Tarf described "scenes of devastation" on the road to El Kala in the country's far north-east.
"A tornado of fire swept everything away in seconds," he told AFP by telephone. "Most of those who died were surrounded while visiting a wildlife park."
Emergency services were still battling a blaze around Tonga lake, he said.
Local media reported that eight people had been burned to death in a bus near the city of 100,000 residents.
Firefighters were also battling a large blaze in the mountainous area of Souk Ahras, a journalist in the area told AFP.
He described scenes of panic in the city of half a million, where nearly 100 women and 17 newborn babies had to be evacuated from a hospital near the forest.
Algerian TV showed people fleeing their burning homes, women carrying children in their arms. Local media said 350 people had fled their homes.
A year ago, at least 65 were killed in the Kabylie region.
Last year, at least 90 people died in forest fires that ravaged northern Algeria, destroying more than 100,000 hectares of woodland.
Each year the north of the country is affected by forest fires, a problem that has worsened due to climate change.
Algeria is Africa's largest country but it only has 4.1 million hectares of forest.