Another power plant in Aegean Milas under risk of being engulfed by flames

Duvar English

After the Kemerköy power plant, another power plant in the Aegean district of Milas is under the risk of burning due to raging wildfires in the area.

As the blaze has been progressing towards the district's north, it is now threatening Yeniköy Thermal Power Plant, Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat said late on Aug. 5.

“The fire has been progressing towards Yeniköy Thermal Power Plant in the north,” Tokat tweeted.

Having already reached the Akçayaka neighborhood, the fire is about to enter the Gürceğiz neighborhood, he said. “The neighborhood of Bayır is being evacuated. The fire now threatens high-tension lines. If the fire reaches this region, no electricity might be provided for Milas and Bodrum,” he said.

A day later on Aug. 6, Tokat said that the fire in the Gürceğiz neighborhood was brought under control and that firefighters started the cooling process in the area.

"We are in the area of Gürceğiz and [nearby] Yeniköy Thermal Power Plant with firefighting crews," he tweeted early on Aug. 6, making it clear that the threat against the plant was not still over. 

Ditches have been dug around Yeniköy Thermal Power Plant, and flammable and explosive materials inside the plant have been taken out, daily Evrensel reported late on Aug. 5.

Also, the electricity production at the plant has been stopped as a precaution, sources told Evrensel. 

A day later on Aug. 6, Evrensel reported that the danger against the plant is far from over, as the flames have approached the Bakırköy neighborhood. "Intense precautions have been taken around the Yeniköy Thermal Power Plant. With the fire approaching the Bakırköy neighborhood, works around the plant have been speeded up," the daily said, citing sources from the Milas Municipality. 

On Aug. 5, local authorities said that flames that threatened the nearby Kemerköy Thermal Power Plant had been contained after 11 hours.

Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez on Aug. 5 told reporters that Kemerköy Power Plant's main units, including its turbines, were not damaged, adding that authorities wanted to render it operational again as soon as possible. He added that no dangerous emissions were reported from the plant.

“At the moment, there is no fire that is threatening the plant,” Dönmez said. “This plant is of critical importance to the region.”

The province of Muğla where the Kemerköy Power Plant is located is one of the worst hit regions. The municipality said 55,000 hectares have been burnt - more than twice the area burnt across the whole of Turkey last year - and 35,000 people have had been evacuated.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, facing criticism for his government's response to the wildfires, says they are the worst that Turkey has suffered.